The General: World War III 'Fixed'
by Sapper69
Summary: Revolves around the game Halo a bit. Instead, Earth goes into World War III. This is a repost of my first story. I fixed most of the misspellings and few other things. Visit this stories webpage for information, link is my homepage.
1. The End Of The Beginning

© 2006 All Rights Reserved.  
**Before Reading-** Please view this stories website for basic and important information. The link can be aquired as my homepage. This is also the fixed version of the story I had first posted. I fixed all the miss spellings, understanding issues in some areas, the foul up at the end where the story cut to something else and back to another thing do to posting wrong chapters at wrong times and other things.

_Febuary 22, 2553_

The D77-TC Pelican dropship flew low and fast above the water. The formation consisted of 15 dropships followed in by heavier air support if needed. This was our last attack in the war, if we failed the world would surely fall to the enemy. Our army had grown tired and low on supplies during World War III, and to have, as we come to call it 'The War of all Wars' to happen durring WWIII on us, really but us in a bad spot to fight it.

I sat in my seat nervous. Looking out at the sea from the back. I didn't know most of the people in the Pelican except my brother who sat two seats down from me. Fear and a lost hope was the only thing most of us had in common and kept us united after all we had gone though at some time. I wanted to wipe my face that had become wet with perspiration, but I was not allowed to remove my helmet before combat.

The dropship formation swayed a bit to the right and began to break apart in search for our invasion target. The target was a island called Relic. We launched from the captured beaches of Zanzibar that we took from the EWCU. We knew it was around here somewhere, but didn't know exactly where. Pelicans filled with troops broke off from our sides and ours continued straight with two others. It wasn't long before we found it. A large tower loomed into view. The big ancient looking tower in the middle was our target. It was the key to the war, what determined what military fraction would win. Thats all I knew. Pilots began chatting over the com, I ignored them.

We began to ready for a quick air-to-ground aerial assault. We would then be dropped off on the beach. Thats what the commander said anyway after talking to the pilots. A German soldier stood with a dismounted M41 Pelican rear Machine Gun. He carefully made his way down by me in the back and began hooking it to the attachments on the roof. A British soldier walked down with a extremely long belt of ammunition and began loading it into the gun. The gun was missing its bag that held the ammo so the British soldier grabbed hold of a walking handle on the roof with his left hand and used his right to hold the ammo, ready to guide it into the gun and keep it from twisting.

I sat uneasy but ready to fight. This wasn't my first engagement with the enemy, I knew what to expect from them. I looked around at the the others in the D77. Most where glancing at the floor while other loaded and made sure their guns where good to go. One guy was praying to his god it seemed. I glanced down at my BR55 Rifle. Semi Auto or three round burst gun. I suddenly realized it wasn't loaded. I picked up a magazine and loaded it and watched as the ammo counter flashed thirty-six.

I leaned my head back against the wall of the pelican and closed my eyes. I nearly fell asleep. Seconds later, explosions surrounded our Pelican squadron. I didn't think much of it, except for that it annoyed me. I looked out the back of the pelican and could see missing shots of anti-air fire, coloring the sky a blackish orange followed by a sudden flash of white which was caused from the burst of e.m.p that was compacted in the round.

I could heard gears starting to move around behind me. I took to the conclusion that the AV Missile Pods where being deployed from the wings.  
"Twenty-five seconds." Said the pilot over the com.  
Another dropship appeared into sight from the flanking rear, gaining speed to catch up. I turned my body to face out the back of the dropship, the man across from me did as well.  
"Pelican 214 engaging." the pilot announced over the com.

The Pelican suddenly bolted upward and the dropships chain gun erupted on the beach. Anti Air fire was all over us. We came up on the beach and took a sharp right. I now had a line of sight down the line of the beach. The M41 gunner opened up on the enemies that where down on the ground in a small rocky area by a small cliff. Me and the guy across from me did as well with our Battle Rifles. The Pelican made it to the end of the island and turned left over a small hill with a tree on it.  
"Armor in the open, moving to engage." Said our pilot over the com.  
Our dropship turned to the left again over a bigger hill that had no grass on it and where facing the other way, ready to head back down the opposite side of the beach. "Copy that." Came a reply. There was a flurry of loud snaps. The AV Missiles where fired, followed soon after by a huge explosion.  
"Armor destroyed." He announced as we headed off overhead over the now destroyed scorpion tank and down the beachline.

In a matter of seconds the Pelican had made its way down and had turned down the opposite side and was now heading back the other way, toward the hills. There was a extremely loud bang as a shot hit the side of the Pelican, the dropship shook violently and swayed downward to the right, almost hitting the water. The pilot forced the dropship back upward. After I got myself organized again, I noticed we where trailing smoke. "Mayday, mayday, Pelican 214 is hit. The left rear engine is losing power! Where going down!" Screamed the pilot as he was madly flipping a bunch of switches.  
One soldier panicked. "This is it, were all gonna die!" He screamed and was silenced by the CO.

The dropship started shaking a lot and got worse by the second. I stood up and grabbed onto one of the roof hand rails. Others sat in their seats with their heads down by their knees and rifles tucked in between their chest and legs, holding them tight. One was acting as though he didn't care what was happening and sat there relaxed. The left rear engine died. The blueish flame that had once come out was gone. The dropship was coming up on the end of the beach. The troopship suddenly swerved to the left over the small hit to make an emergency crash on the rim of the beach.

The dropship slammed into the tree, knocking it into pieces. The dropships front flipped down on the impact, forcing the Pelican to do an entire flip on its way down. The Pelican slammed down into the ground and slid to a sudden halt as it collided with the bigger hill on the beach.

"214 are you alright!...214!" came the cries over the com.  
I laid in the sand looking out toward the water, I had been throw out with the gunner and his mate. I could hear the yells of others in pain. I just laid there, numb. I began to wonder if my brother had made it. I coughed a bit as my eyes began to close.

I was unconscious for only a minute or two. I started to come to from the sound of infantry gunfire nearby. I rolled over, facing the ancient tower. My gut hurt a bit and I was dizzy, that was surprisingly it. A loud screech flew by overhead. I barely made out the C709 Longsword as it screamed by. The troop firing line by the hills ducked for better cover. Fire spread across the ground out ahead between the tower and the firing line on the beach, followed by a trail of explosions inside the fire heading down along it. The fire quickly put itself nearly out as it was chemically altered to. A few enemy bodies lay smoking on the ground, most in pieces or in the newly formed small foxholes.

Without warning a soldier suddenly grabbed me and pulled me up to my feet. My side tightened up with pain a bit.  
"I thought you where dead!" Said the soldier as he slammed a BR55 into my hands. "Now get out there and fight!"  
He pushed me by toward the firing line. A bit of blood drooped down into the corner of my right eye. I shook my head trying to get it out of the way.

I started to make my way up to the line. I gazed around. Roughly seven men where out from wounds. I took it that two or so other Pelicans must have dropped of their load of troops as well. I looked over to my right at the wreckage. One man was missing his body from the gut down, he laid there next to a medic, still alive, talking to him. I stopped, under the cover of the small hill ahead and looked at his insignia to see if it was my brother, it wasn't.

I came into view of the enemy and dashed into cover behind a small hillside where other soldiers where. Our defence was fairly good, the environment provided great cover on the right. Where I was on the left was horrible. There where so many of us that we boldged out in the back and where taking dings in our armor.

Our positions consisted of the south side of the beach. We had a small mount to the left and a hill line to the right. The hill line had a big hill on the right and swooped down into a walkway kind of area with a small mount on the left. Almost like a trench. Soldiers soon managed to drag up the armored plating down by my position which had little cover. There where two big ones and a small one. They where set up in the middle between the gap of the two hills. We where forced to pour in behind them to provide more cover. Others used the hills.

I knew that this fight would be hard to win but had to be done, the worlds fate rested in this engagement. I looked up at the tower. It had a platform halfway or so up, then the sides extended extremely high into the air. The structure also stretched out to the other end of the beach, at the other end was the enemy AA position.

I checked the top of the tower for a sniper but found none. I glanced down back at the platform. The enemy had brought up a one of our M41mobile railguns they must of acquired from some previous battle. I watched as the small black bipod was setup and the black turret put atop of it. The gunner kneeled down and fired. Our lines on the left suddenly stopped shooting, pinned by the MG. I ducked down from the fire behind a armor plating.

Someone slid in beside me on their knees and glanced over at me.  
"Thomas!" He said. I glanced over, it was my brother.  
"Dave!" I reached over and pulled my bother in by me, hugging him.  
"I didn't think you made it." he said. "I looked for you but couldn't find you."  
I was overjoyed to be with my brother again, though the moment was brought to a stop as a soldier by me was suddenly hit and brought down. I reached over and pulled the soldier in more. I sat him up against the armor shields where I was and examined him. The bullet didn't pierce his armor, only knocked him back and left a nasty dent.  
"Lucky bastard." I said.

We sat there under fire, occassionaly poping up to put a few shots off before the bullets flew on us again.  
"Fifth Squad!" I head someone yell over and over.  
I looked around. "Fifty Squad on me!"  
I glanced down toward the right of the troop line. I saw a man in green armor, the troop commander calling our team in.

A Pelican came in and and hovering a bit off the ground dropped off fresh units, ammo, weapons, and then took off. Two people came running up my way. I glanced over at them. A man carrying a M41 and another a stationary setup with a built in shield where heading our way. They where the remaining company gunners, though they carried a stationary setup rather than a mobile. The gunners mate slammed the four foot setup into the sand behind the small metal defence that no one used. The other guy put the turret on the rail and then fumbled with the lock on the right while the mate put in a fresh ammo belt. The gunner started firing.

The enemy turret quit shooting, suppressed by our fixed MG with with superior cover for the gunner.  
"Lets go." I said tapping Dave.  
He looked at me as I stood up and bolted off toward our company commander and the rest of fifth squad, Dave soon right behind me.

We went up the small grassy incline by the big hill that was to our right now. I didn't even notice the blood on the ground until I slid on it, I slid about a foot or two on a pool of blood, nearly tripping. I continued on, now behind my brother. A smaller hill ledge covered us on our left from enemy fire, which was where our squad was taking cover.  
"Where the hell have you two been?" Demanded the commander as jogged up. We just stared at him.  
"Forget it, you missed the main briefing... To cut it short, where moving up the right here to flank the enemy." He pointed off to a small rocky area by a small cliff which sat the smoking armor our Pelican hit.  
"Where gonna keep them busy there, while some of the others here will make their way up the left."  
We nodded in understanding.

"Everyone, get ready!" he yelled.  
The team lined up in a line along the small ledge to our left, ready to move out. We went a bit further down the way so we could get up and over without having the broken tree log that had landed there from the wreck in the way.  
"Lets do this!" Yelled the commander as he hopped up onto the ledge in the open and jumped down into a lower section of the beach on the other side. Others started hopping up and jump down behind him. I hopped up with my brother.

I had hopped up onto the ledge. I looked out as the world suddenly turned fuzzy and began to drown out. The world flipped before my eyes, suddenly the sky took over the ground. I landed in a heap on my back where I had jumped up at, my gun fell to the ground.  
"Medic!" I heard someone yell in what seemed slow motion.  
I was dragged up and put in a sitting position against the ledge by a unknown soldier. A medic ran up and glanced at my chest, said something to a man by me then dashed off down the line.

I looked down at my chest as best I could. A hole was in my armor and blood was slowly coming out. I began breathing heavy from the pain and damage of the wound. The medic came back with some supplies and removed my helmet and set it aside.

"Your going to be okay son." he said rather quick.  
"What happened... Wha..." I choked on blood talking. I spit it up and continued "What's wrong with me?"  
The medic said nothing and started removing my chest armor. The pain grew stronger and stronger and the world had seemed to spin for a split second.  
"Tel...Tell me?" I demanded in pain.  
"You where hit by a sniper round." he paused and looked at the wound better. "It looks like it went in your chest and out your back." he said as he applied a foam into the wound. "But we got him back." He finished.  
I looked away and stared blankly into the air while he operated on me, thinking.

...I never really believed in the theory that you saw your life flash by before your eyes before you die... Not until it happened to me. I sat there as my team moved on without me, leaving me staring into the air with these unknown people, watching my life flash before my eyes.


	2. Deployment

_June 10th, 2552, Noon_

I sat in my tight and stuffy airborne drop case onboard the FFG-142 UNSC frigate awaiting to be deployed to Fort Containment. The entire 15 Airborne was being deployed there. My brother and I where confused on why we where being deployed to Antarctica, what was there that was so important, other than the remaining resources. Orders where orders and we knew we would have to go, for whatever the reason was.

Our squad was dropping in on the west of the fort was all I knew, other squads where dropping in other areas of the fort. The yellowish white light above me shot off and the weapon holsters all slammed shut in the sides of of my case. The light above my head turned to a dim red and I knew we where about to be dropped in. It was about time, I had grown tired of standing in the hot case in my full bodied mechanized armor. The red animated number just above the door flashed five and counted down.

_Zero_. 

There was a hiss for a second or two then the feeling of free fall. I had dropped in these cases before in training, I love the feeling of free fall you get in them. It gave me that excited feeling in my stomach.

The pod shook a small bit on its way down. There was a pop as the upper cable shot out from the top to deploy air catcher that would slow us down. After fifteen seconds of being deployed it snapped out and I continued my decent. I felt the reverse thrusters kick in below my feet. Pressure hit my feet and legs hard and caused my eyes to water like always as we slowed down for the sudden stop. The pod slammed into the ground, coming to a sudden halt. I could hear others hitting the ground around me as well.

The pod doors shot off and a rush of cold air came over me instantly, I shivered a bit as the cold rushed though my armor a bit. I had a hard time seeing out from the pod, it was so bright. After dropping in we usually get what we called 'drop blurs' from the force that builds up when the thrusters suddenly slow you down that causes your eyes to water up.

I stepped out into the soft, mushy, and dirty looking snow and looked around squinting, covering my eyes a bit until they got used to the lighting. Fort Containment, Antarctica. Thats where we where at. I watched as others started stepping out as well, also covering their eyes.

The fort was huge. Off in the distance in front of me stood a fortress wall with mounted gun emplacements on it looking out at us. To my left was a flat area that lead out toward a large cliff side with a cave in it. To my right was nothing but the base for as far as I could see in the snow fall. I looked around for my brother and my closest friend who had dropped in with me. I didn't see them. A jeep started up toward us with a passenger and mounted gunner. The jeep pulled up in front of us and the passenger stepped out onto the ground before the vehicle even came to a full stop.

The passenger wore sage green mechanized armor, meaning he was a WWMF general. He didn't have his helmet on though. He wasn't to groomed for a general either. His hair was messy, puffs of hair stood up on his head, and his face needed to finish being shaved. He also had a scar on his left cheek that made a cross, showing he came from military chapel corps, a corps that worshiped and treated soldiers with great respect and supported them. Most troops spill confessions to them and that sort of stuff, they where more like a father of a church.

No one snapped to attention, not even me.  
"Form rows!" He had barked, but I was busy looking for my brother and my close friend and wasn't paying attention.  
People where rushing into line while I stood there looking around. I turned to my left and the general was in my face.  
"Did I stutter!" He yelled up in my face. "Get in formation!"  
I glanced around and got the hint pretty quick and joined the others.  
"Attention!" He barked and all twenty-four of us snapped our heels together and saluted. "At ease." he said calmly and we all put out hands behind our back, still standing straight.

He walked to the far right of the line and from there he slowly walked down the line, looking at everyone in the face. Halfway down he stopped in font of some soldier who's legs where shaking a bit. He looked at the soldier in the eyes.  
"Do I scare you!" He yelled in his face.   
"No, sir!" Came the reply.  
The general put his face closer up to his. The soldier leaned back a bit.  
"Yes, sir." the soldier said in a squeaky tone, obviously scared of the man. The general stepped over in front of the next soldier.  
"Is he telling the truth?" He yelled.  
"Ye...No... I don't know, sir!" he said. He went walking down the line looking at everyone as he went.  
"He knows doesn't he?" He yelled when walking down to the end. No one responded.

We stood there, looking at the general. He came down the second line, my line. He looked at one soldier.  
"Do you even know why your here soldier?" The soldier paused.  
"...Yes, sir!" he said lying, trying to look impressive.  
None of us knew why we where here.  
"Why are you here?" Hey asked yelling. The soldier stayed silent. "You haven't been told anything!" Said the general. "You where only notified that you where being deployed here, i'm to tell you why!"  
He walked down the line and stopped in front of me.  
"How does he know why he's here!" I looked oddly at the general, though I don't know if he could tell that I was or not though my visor.  
"I don't know, sir." I said in a calm tone. He stared deep into my eyes, I felt as though he was looking at my soul. The guy seemed nuts. He continued on down the line and then made his way back to the front, not having gone down the third line.

He stood out in front of all of us. He looked at our team commander in the green armor.  
"This is fifth squad correct?"  
"Yes, general!" Replied our C.O.  
"Lieutenant, have you yet yourself been briefed on your specs?"  
"No, general!" Came the reply.  
"Then you will accompany me for briefing lieutenant." said the general as a convoy of transport vehicles approached us.  
I thought they where for us but they continued on past us.  
"Yes, general I will accompany you!"  
"Good." replied the general as I looked back at them.  
Another vehicle approached and stopped this time by generals vehicle. The passenger got out and saluted the general. The general signaled the lieutenant forward and talked to him silently. Our CO soon got into the passengers seat of the vehicle and the general got in the passenger seat of his vehicle. The dismounted passenger approached us as they drove off.

The soldier came up and stood in front of us.  
"I am private first class Andy Long." he stated.  
I stared into his visor as best as I could but I couldn't really make out what he looked like.  
"I will be guiding you around the camp. I will state how things are done as we go along. You will do as I say during this time. Are we understood?"  
Our team stayed silent, not really replying to what the private had said.  
"We will be marching off that way for the next two-thousand or so yards to your quarters." He pointed out toward our right and everyone glanced off that way.   
There was some moaning among the squad but quickly died out. I glanced around real quick, still trying to find my brother and friend. Still they remaind out of sight. Andy started off and we followed him in stratus.

Someone bumped me in the arm. I glanced into the visor of another trooper, one I didn't really know.  
"Yo, why do you think where here?" He asked.  
I looked at him a bit then replied  
"I don't know."  
"Do you think were going to war or something, and where going to make the first strike. It would be about time we got to use or training on someone." he said happily. "Don't you think?"  
I ignored the war-hawk and found myself again wondering why we where here. Why I had been drafted. What value that Antarctica had that we would need to set up a military base in this area. What had happened.

After about twenty minutes of walking we came up upon another fortress sized wall, like the other one back at the other side of the base. This one two was armed with emplacements along it as well. I glanced off to my left to see the cracked general. He was yelling in the face of another soldier in a different squad that had dropped in. I couldn't help but chuckle a little.  
"What are you laughing at?" Asked the war-hawk, not having seen what was happening.  
"Nothing." I replied.

My feet started to get a bit cold, even though I was in my mechanized armor, and hoped we would go inside somewhere to warm up. My wish started to come true as we entered the fortress walls. I looked up at the wall side and the guards atop the wall as we entered. I then looked around.  
"Halt!" Said Andy.  
We stopped and where all gazing around. I took the chance to look for my brother and friend. I glanced over by the wall and found Steve, my closest friend. He wasn't with the rest of us. He stood over by the a ramp that lead up to the wall side and was looking up at the stationary gunners. I walked over to him while Andy talked on about something. I knew I could get into trouble for leaving the others, but didn't really care.

"Steve." I said to him.  
He turned and faced me.  
"Hey, Thomas." he said excited and we gave our secret handshake.  
"What are you doing over here?" I asked.  
"Me? " he said. "I was checking out the stationary weaponry as best as I could."  
I looked up at the emplacements also.  
"My role is a company gunner." he continued. "So I figured they would help tell me what turret I might be issued."  
I turned my attention away from the wall and glanced around at other soldiers that where napping, eating or playing cards in the snowfall.  
"Hey, you!" a voice called out, it was Andy and he was walking over to us.  
"What do you guys think your doing, we've moved on and you've missed most of the discussion, go get back with the group." he said and headed on back.  
We followed him back to the rest of the outfit.

"Okay now." said Andy in front of the group and pointed toward a entrance into a area in which two guards stood in the snowfall, next to a wall opening that lead into a area.  
"That is the sleeping quarters." Andy started. "I will tell you now that there are no beds, blankets, pillows or anything like that. So its best to sleep in your armor..."  
"What do you mean there are no beds or anything?" Interrupted a soldier.  
"I'll tell you the general of this fort never makes it easy on his troops." stated Andy.  
"Bullshit!" Announced the complaining soldier.  
"Moving on, you are also only given six hours of sleep a day. You can choose when to use your hours, unless on duty. People who just dropped in, such as yourself, are given ten extra hours for that day. You all have sixteen hours of sleep on your cards, your cards will be given to you in a little bit. Same works with food. You are given one meal a day. You can choose when to have it." he paused. "Any questions?"

The troop stood uneasy, most mumbled about the conditions under their breath. Steve and I where also didn't care for the rules ourself. Six hours of sleep wasn't to big a deal, only two less hours than normal. But no beds or anything we hated, also only being able to have one meal.   
"What about showering and that stuff?" Asked a soldier.   
"Oh yes I forgot to go over that. You may only shower once a week. Bathrooms are where the showers are as well, at the end of the wall line." Steve and I glanced a bit at each other and looked back at Andy.  
"Alright then." said Andy. "You may do as you please for now. You will be briefed tomorrow on your operations here. That is all." He saluted and walked off.  
Steve and I stood there. Others split off and started wondering around the camp.  
"Its going to be rough here." said Steve. "Think we can handle it?" He looked at me.  
I looked back.  
"Well be good so long as we stay as a buddy team." I replied.  
"I suppose so."

I spotted my bother making his way to us, he had found us. He came up and we did our little secret handshake.  
"I was wondering where you guys where." said Dave. "I hadn't seen you guys when we landed."   
We talked for a bit then got word they where passing out our sleeping, food, and bathing cards. We headed up the stairs to the top of the bunker wall and walked down along it to the area where they where being given out. We got ours.

We decided to go get some food first. We went down the defence line more and down the stairs on that side where a line of steaming pots where at. The menu was stew and bread with tea. We sat down in the snowfall and ate. The stew was fairly good with lots of meat, the bread was lumpy and tasted a bit stale. The tea was tasteless. I later came to learn that the tea was really dirt dissolved in hot water and had something added to kill all the flavor. But it was at least hot.

After eating we walked around and examined the area and talked things over. After about a hour of doing so we decided to head in for some sleep.

At our arrival, the guards checked out our cards and sent us in. The room was near empty. It had a slightly slanted wall that stuck outward from the ground a bit that went all around the room, enough to lay out on in a slanted angel without sliding off or having to hold ourself up. We laid there talking. I closed my eyes and listened to Dave and Steve chat, occasionally adding something in with them. I fell asleep as we talked.


	3. Taking Arms

_June 11th, 2552, 7:20 AM_

"Get up, already." I head someone saying.  
My eyes remained closed but I coming to reality. My body started shaking and I opened my eyes to find one of the guards in my face shaking me.  
"About time, god, took me eight minutes to finally get you up." he said laughing a bit.  
I sat up and reached up to rub my eyes. My hands came in contact with my visor. I had forgotten I slept in my armor and I wasn't used to doing so. I looked around, Steve and Dave where gone.  
"You are out of time from dropping in and that day." said the guard. "You can continue sleeping for the next six hours on your time for today." he stated.  
"No thanks... I'm good." I replied yawning.  
"Alright." said the guard.  
He turned and started walking off to his post. I looked over at him.  
"Wait." I said.  
He stopped and turned toward me.  
"Do you know where the two people who where with me are?" I asked him.  
"The gunner and sniper insinginaed guys. Yeah, they're above you playing cards last I saw. I believe there still there." He answered me.  
"Thanks." I replied and stood up as he walked back to the wall opening entrance.

I stretched out my arms and legs and removed my helmet. I wiped the crust that was in my eyes and looked around. I walked out holding my helmet. A cold breeze hit me and went down my armor, chilling me to the bone. I jumped back in so the walls protected me better from the breeze. The guards looked at me and laughed a little.

I put my helmet on and stepped out.  
"To cold for ya here?" Asked the guard to my right.  
I looked over at him. He was different from everyone I seen here. He was a normal marine. He didn't wear the mechanized armor we did, or the other guard to my left. His face and hands was exposed and he wore normal bullet proof armor and a light helmet.  
"I'll get used to it." I replied and walked out.  
He chuckled a bit more.

The ground was still mushy with snow and slick, but the snowfall had finally stopped. I headed to the upper section where the guard said Steve and Dave may be. I got there and was able to spot them easily. Steve wasn't wearing his helmet and was locked in a game of checkers rather than cards with steve and another man on the floor.  
"Hey your up." said Dave looking across at me as I approached. Dave and the other man turned a bit and looked at me.  
"Hey" said Dave. I nodded at him.  
"Hey there." said the other man. I made out his insignia on the shoulder of his armor.  
"Andy correct?" I asked.  
"Dead on." he said and turned back to the game. "Unlike our intelligence staff." he stated, laughing a bit at his own stupid joke.

I glanced down at their game. It was different. There where the common red and black pieces, but Andy was using rocks.  
"What are you guys playing?" I asked curiously.  
"Its a three way." Andy said. "Everyone for themselves. We just used small rocks for extra pieces."  
I smirked a bit about the way they where playing and sat on the ground by them watching them play. Andy came out as the winner. I then talked them into a game of cards. We decided to play war, we thought it seemed appropriate seeing as we were soldiers and all.

Andy was about to win when we heard a females voice come over the loud speakers.   
"Fifth squad please report to the front gate, again, fifth squad report to the front gate."  
I looked over at Steve then Dave.

"Ah, must be time for your briefing." Andy said. "You all better get going."  
We said goodbye to him and walked off to the gates, talking a bit about Andy and what we thought of him as we went.

We made our way to the gates and found about seven others from our squad there. Our CO was there also. We waited as the others came up, after which we did a role call and everyone was accounted for.  
"Alright, this way." said our CO.

We walked out of the camp and off toward a cave as a different squad walked in . Upon our arrival, we where told to wait outside and come in as our names where called. We all stood around and talked over things for a few minutes.

"Jason Hegemann!" a voice in the cave called out.  
The soldier in his red armor stepped up and went in. After a minute he then came back out with a ammo and gun holster belt around his waste and a BR55 in hands.  
"Must just be just issuing weapons to us." said Dave.  
Another name was called and another person in red armor stepped in and came out with a BR55.  
"I think they're doing basic infantry first." added Steve.  
After awhile all the basic infantry had been called in and had come out, except for one.

"Steven Cruise and Jake Eversworth!" Called the voice.  
I was wondering why two names where called. Steve in his brown armor and the man in his red armor stepped forth and went in. They where in there a bit longer than everyone else. They finally emerged.

The person named Jake had a tripod in his hands and ammo hanging around his neck, Steve had a M41 Mobile Machine Gun in his hands. Steve and Jake shook hands and said something to each other. Jake went one way to his friends and Steve came to us.  
"Who is that?" Dave asked. "Jack Eversworth, my gunners mate."

Steve glanced over his turret.  
"The M41." he said. "Just as I figured. Its the same as the stationary emplacements on the wall."  
"Thomas Steel!" Came the call of my name.   
I looked at Steve and Dave and then made my way in.

The cave had a small metal pole running along the top of it. Lights came out here and there that light up the cave. I made my way further up and found my CO and another man.  
"Thomas Steel?" Asked my CO  
"Yes, sir!" I said and snapped to attention. He chuckled a bit.  
"Your a good soldier." he said and patted me on the shoulder.  
I looked at him a bit sceptical, denying that he would call me a good soldier just for coming in.   
"Your the only one thats snapped to attention." he said.  
"Thank you, sir!" I replied.  
"Thomas Steel is a member of a buddy team, the buddy team leader correct?" asked the other man.  
"Yes." said my CO.  
The man went into another section of the cave and came out with a MA5B Assault Rifle and gave it to me. He went back in and came out with a ammo and gun holster belt that already had ammo and a side arm attached in it. He again stepped back in and came out with two M9 HE-DP Fragmentation Grenades and handed them to me. I attached them to my my belt.

Someone else then stepped out from the other section of the cave. I glanced at his hands, my eyes got wide. He was carrying a T72-HE Nuclear Grenade. He handed it to the man and went back in.  
"Almost forgot to give you this." he said and handed it to me.  
He put it in my hands and I still dropped it, causing me to jump back. The man and my CO didn't even flinch. They laughed at my sudden shock of fear that hit me.  
"As though that little hop back would have done anything to help you." said the man as he picked it up. He attached it to my belt himself.  
"Don't worry." he said. "It won't go off unless you remove the safety cap and hit the switch."  
"Of course." I replied nervously, looking down at it on my belt.  
I had never even used a T72 grenade before but I had seen what it does during training, we all saw the amount of damage it could cause.  
"You may go." said my CO. I turned and started to walk out a bit uneasy.

I made my out. It wasn't long before the others spotted the nuclear grenade and began to step back away from me, as though I where some reject psycho. I made my way to Dave and Steve. They too stepped back a bit.   
"Don't worry." I announced outlot to everyone. "It will only go off if I remove the safety cap and flip the switch." I finished, trying to look impressive.  
Still they kept there distance.

I soon caught a guy approaching me from the corner of my eye. I looked at his insignia, it was the war-hawk. He got beside me and keeled down, looking at the grenade.  
"Oh man, do you know how many people you could send to oblivion with that thing!" He said excited. "You lucky dog, I wish I had one to play with!"  
He flicked the thing, causing me to jump slightly, then stood up and walked off back to the others.

"Weirdo." my brother said quietly.  
We sat around for a minute.  
"David Steel!" Called the voice.  
We looked over at David and he looked at the cave.  
"Well, i'll be back." he said and headed off into the cave. He emerged a bit later with a S2 AM Sniper Rifle. He had the best marksmanship score during basics and went onto advanced marksmanship and became a sniper. He came out and back to us, our CO came out seconds later with a MA5B in his hands and his own ammo and gun holster as well. He to had a nuclear grenade on his belt. We where the only ones.

He glanced around at us for a moment, looking at everyone as they talked and joked around.  
"Fall in!" He yelled and we all formed up in a two row column behind him.  
We marched out back into the camp but turned left when we entered, away from the quarters. We stopped in a open area.  
"At ease." the CO. announced.  
Most sat down or took a knee. Steve, Dave, and I remained standing in the back.

"I am Ryan Smith, I am your new CO." He announced he paused.  
I glanced at his tag, it hit me that it was a different commander than our previous one. I hadn't realized it before.  
"... I am now to discuss why we are here." He gazed around at us. "Who here has heard of the meteor strike that happened here twenty years ago?" he asked.  
Nobody raised their hand.  
"I never heard of this." I whispered to my brother and friend.  
"Me either." Steve replied.  
_June 11th, 2552, 7:20 AM_

We looked listening in with interest.  
"Seeing as none of you know. In 2532, before a few of you where even born, the people living here started having problems. Most had started to become crazy and where getting an unusual sickness. They began to riot all over the Antarctica. The EWCU Russian division was sent in under the command of a american named Max to restore control. After awhile he started sending reports back that his troops where becoming ill with this unknown virus. EWCU command sent in the French Division." he paused. "...A week after they arrived, the meteor hit Antarctica. After that we, the American division, decided to step in for the WWMF. That was when Fort Containment was established. Since then, we have not heard of or seen them. We believe they may all be dead."

This thought flew though my head. I now knew somewhat why we where here. Ryan continued.  
"Our main mission here is basically for eyes. Strangely, after the meteor hit, there has been a massive magnetic shield in the atmosphere blocking view of satellite detecting over all of Antarctica and a bit more off land over the ocean. Its also caused strange weather patterns over Canada. Why way out there, we don't know."

"Sir?" a soldier asked out. "If this happened twenty years ago, then why are we still looking for them. If we can't find them then obviously they must of died right?"  
"Good question." Replied Ryan. "We are not looking for them directly anymore, just any remains of a camps or supplies to show where they had been at. The EWCU won't tell us directly."

So that was our purpose here, to find any remains of the EWCU in any form. I thought everything a bit. How a meteor had hit here and I had never known.   
"Thats about all I can say for now." Announced Ryan. "Our company, the 15th Airborne is designated as a recon team for now. Thats probably what we'll be doing for awhile." He paused and looked over us and stood up. "Any more questions?"  
No one asked any.  
"Thats all then. As for you weapons. Keep them with your or put them outside over by the guards. Until were further deployed men." He finished and got up and walked off.

Everyone began talking about what could be going on, about the meteor and the disappearance of the EWCU divisions. I stood there thinking about the virus. What were its symptoms, was there a cure for it now, was it known to be around this part of Antarctica. I stood there thinking about it. I figured everything was safe seeing as how we weren't given any shots, it must not be known in this area.  
"This is insane." said Steve. "To think a meteor hit here and it was never on the news or anything.

What he said hit me like a grenade in my face. Something was wrong, it didn't add up. The female voice came over the speakers again.  
"Eleventh squad, please report to the front gate."  
I turned and started to head off toward the encampment deep in thought, Steve and Dave started to follow.


	4. The Marine

_June 14th, 2552, 6:11 PM_

Stew, bread, and dirt mixed water. I grew tired of it. We had the same meal every day and it was starting to make me sick. Steve, Max and I made our way to the upper part of the camp with our food, to what we called the 'balcony.' It was the area above the sleeping quarters and the edges dropped straight down. We sat down with out feet hanging out over the side.

"Yo!" Someone said, I looked around then noticed movement below us. I looked down at the guards below us they where staring back at us.   
"What?" I asked, then I noticed the snow on them.  
"You knocked snow down the back of my armor." Said the marine.  
He started to shake his body to get rid of the snow between his armor and back. Bits and pieces of snow came out the back of his shirt under his armor and off his shoulders and other places of his body.   
"Sorry." I said back. Steve and Dave apologized as well.  
The marine turned back away from us and continued shaking, trying to get the snow out of his armor. The mechanized guard chuckled at the marine. We chuckled a bit too.

"Have any of you guys seen Andy?" Asked Steve, taking a bite of his stew. "Haven't seen him since our briefing." he added.  
"No, I haven't seen him either." replied Dave.  
I took a sip of my tea and set the cup down on my helmet that sat beside me.  
"No, me neither." I added as I tore out a chunk of bread and tossed it into my mouth.

I chewed it up and swallowed. I froze as my stomach turned. Something was wrong with the bread, it tasted horrible, well worse then normal. I set my tray down and put my hand over my stomach.  
"You okay?" Dave asked.  
I sat there for a second. I leaned forward and puked.

I my eyes had closed when I did. I opened them to find the marine below covered in it. The marine was looking up and down his arms and at the ground that was covered in it too. Then he looked up at me.  
"Oh shit!" the mechanized guard by him said and began laughing.   
"You son of a bitch!" Yelled the marine. "I'll kill you!"  
The marine threw his gun to the ground and bolted off for the stairs, piece of my barf flying off of him as he ran. He was coming for me. He came up the stairs sprinting, people stepping out of his way. He turned the corner and was soon sprinting straight at me. I stood up quickly and readied myself for a fight.

The marine did something unexpected. I had readied myself for him to spear me. He instead slid to the ground, going between my legs on the snow. He grabbed on to my legs and came to a stop behind me. Before I could react and turn around, he had taken me to the ground from behind by pulling my leg out and pressing forward with his body. I could tell he was well trained for hand-to-hand combat, but so was I.

He pinned me to the ground and put me into a choke hold, about all he could do seeing as the rest of my body was still in armor. I rolled over to my right side and got the that feeling of free fall. I had forgot we where right by a ledge. We hit the ground hard but it didn't end there. We where both on our feet quickly and he charged me again, still a bit covered in puke.  
"Mother fucker!" he screamed.

He went for a punch but I dodged. A crowed soon gathered around to watch. The marine swung his leg at me with all his strength striking me in the side, but I didn't feel it much. I took the chance and punched the marine in his face. He stumbled back a bit, his body arced back and head turned to the right. He came to a stop and stood up straight and looked at me, blood came down from the corner of his mouth.

He started to charge me again. I got myself ready. Suddenly my bother jumped in and grabbed him, pulling him to a stop.  
"Calm down." my brother said to the marine. The marine struggled to get free and get to me.  
"Let go!" he yelled. The other guard stepped up and grabbed hold of him too.  
"Okay, its time to end this mate." the guard said. "Cool down. It was an accident."   
I stood there in the snowing looking at the man. My stomach turned a bit more and I almost puked again. The marine struggled a bit more to get free and then finally cooled down after a bit.  
"Come on mate." the mechanized guard said to him. More guards came jogging up from the wall, each with six-inch bayonets in their hands.   
"Lets go mate and get you cleaned up and forget about it." he said trying to keep him calm, the two guards then walked off for the top of the wall. The marine glancing at me as he and the other guard made their way up the wall stairs.

"Alright people, nothing to see here, move on." I could hear someone saying.  
"You alright man?" someone behind me asked.  
I turned around. It was Steve. I glanced at him a bit, then looked back at the marine as he made his way down the wall to the other end.   
"Yeah..." I said. "Yeah, I'm fine."

A few hours later I went into the sleeping quarters for a minute to take and drop off my armor after playing a big game of war with Steve and Dave and put on my side clothing that had been given to us.

I exited the building and made my way to the bathrooms. I started to take a leak in one of the urinals that was installed into the side of the cave. I heard someone enter. I looked into a nearby mirror and saw it was the marine guard I had fought with. He looked over at me and stood there. I stopped peeing, even though I wasn't done. A stinging sensation built up on the tip of my penis from having to stop early. He started to walk up to me. I zipped up my pants and turned to meet him.

He stopped a bit in front of me and looked at me.   
"Look." he started. "I'm sorry for what happened back there." he said surprisingly. "I jumped the gun a bit, even though it was an accident... And I wanted to say sorry before I left." He put his right hand out. I looked at his hand, a bit confused as to what he meant by 'before he left'.  
"It was my fault." I replied.  
"Maybe." he said. "Nonetheless I still acted immature." I shook his hand carefully, making sure that he wouldn't use the change to attack me. He soon quite and saluted me and turned and walked out.

I stood there a bit in disbelief of what had just happened, I hadn't expected it to. I turned to the urinal and started to finish going pe. When I was finished I zipped up my pants and headed to the sink on the opposite side of the cave and began to wash my hands. Another soldier walked in, one I didn't know. I didn't pay much attention to him until he walked over by another sink and took off his shirt.

He ducked his head into the sink as best he could to get his hair wet. He soon soaped up his hands and began putting it into his hair. I stood there and watched in shock. He looked over at me.  
"What?" He said to me. "I don't have any showering time on my card. Next best thing." He finished.  
"O-Okay." I said and turned away to finish washing my hands.  
I was drying off my hands when alarms started going off. I then could hear D77 Pelicans flying overhead. I glanced at the other soldier who had looked up at me. He stared at me confused also. He began to put his shirt back on.

A guard stepped out from around the corner where the showers where.  
"Hey!" He yelled at us. "I I told you that you couldn't cheap a shower!"  
"What!" The guy barked back. "I don't know what your talking about."  
"Yes you do, I told you yesterday!" He angered.  
I focused them out and listened as the Pelicans took off again overhead. I started for the exit, leaving the others behind to fight as the alarms continued.  
"Do you know what that alarms for! It's the asshole alarm and your here!" Yelled the man as I exited.

I made my way to Steve and Dave where at last but noticed them on the wall line ahead of me instead.  
"What's going on?" I asked as I came in by them.  
"I don't know!" Dave said back.  
I went up to the wall edge and glanced out with everyone else. A convoy of four Warthogs with Heavy Machine Guns on the back and a Scorpion battle tank moved though the open and came to a stop a way out. Three transport Warthogs came into view and pulled up by the convoy. I watched as about fifty marines dashed out from around a small hill and mounted up in them. The convoy soon pulled off. I was so focused on watching what was happening that I didn't even notice the alarms had shut off. A marine in the last transport vehicle at the back of the convoy glanced back at the fort. I recognized his face, it was the soldier I had gotten into a fight with. He waved toward us. I waved back.  
I watched until the convoy was out of sight and stepped back.

"What do you thinks going on?" Dave asked.  
"Hell if I know." Steve said in return.  
I stood there in thought for a second.  
"We better go to sleep." I said, and looked at Steve and Dave. They looked at me strangely.   
"Why?" Said Steve. "Something's going on, maybe we should stay up and find out what's happening."  
"No." I answered back. "We better get some sleep while we can. If something going down then well be sent out on recon soon. We better sleep while we can."  
"True." Dave replied.  
We made our way down to the sleeping quarters and turned in. I put my armor on and laid down and tried to go to sleep. I listened as someone yelled out among the camp.  
"You can't kick me out of the restroom cause I just left!"  
I smiled a bit at it. I laid around in thought. It took me forty minutes before I finally crashed.

"Get up." Someone said, and I woke up with a jump. I was in a light sleep.   
"Are you in the 15th Airborne?" A voice asked.  
I looked over and saw a soldier in mechanized armor. I took it he was the guard.  
"Yeah." I replied, still waking up a bit.   
"15th Airborne has been called outside the main gate. You need to go." He told me.

I knew it. I knew we where going to be called on for something. I glanced to my left and right. Steve and Dave where still asleep.  
"What time is it?" I asked the guard.  
"Around eight-ten pm." he replied.  
I had been asleep for about an hour.  
"Dave, Steve!" I yelled. They awoke with a jump also.  
"We've been called on. Lets go." I said and stood up.  
The guard walked back off to the wall opening. I started to walk off too, Dave and Steve got up and followed.

It was still daylight. It was always daylight and would be for the next month or so, this land annoyed me.  
"What's going on?" Dave asked me.  
"I don't know yet. We've just been called out to the gate is all I know." I said.  
We walked quickly though the snow to the gate. We walked out of the fort and out in the distance stood about two hundred men from the 15 Airborne. The nut job general was there also. We walked up and joined the rest of them.  
"What's going on?" I asked the soldier in front of me. He turned and looked at me, it was the war-hawk.  
"I don't know. I think where going somewhere." he said.  
He sounded a bit scared rather than excited.

We waited around until all three hundred of us from the 15th Airborne where here.  
"Form rows!" Yelled the general.  
We formed into six rows of fifty men per row. Officers stood in the very front. The general stood up on a small snow mount. I looked to my left. D77 Dropships flew in and landed down the way, melting the snow around them do to the heat of the engines and thrusters. There where three of them.

People began whispering to each other. It got loud with so many people whispering.   
"Shut up!" Yelled the general. "Do you hear it?"  
It grew silent very quick. We all listened. I could hear a very faint rumble every few seconds...artillery. We all made it out.  
"About four hours ago a marine company was sent out. We had come across some intel and found a weapons crate still in piece that was once used by the EWCU. After reconing the area we found a pocket of EWCU troops. The marine battalion was sent out to recon and then make contact with them. The EWCU troops attacked the marines instead. That faint artillery you hear is from a battle going on between our marines and the EWCU royal troop!" A soldier spoke up and interrupted the general.  
"Why did they attack?" He asked. "They are our allies ain't they?"

The general glanced at the soldier, I feared for the trooper. The general shifted his body and stayed where he was.  
"Yes they are... I believe." he replied. "It is unknown why the group attacked. They may be confused or something, we don't know yet." 

I couldn't believe what was going on. I couldn't think of a reason as to why they would attack us.  
"You guys." said the general and paused and looked over us.  
He pointed out at us and started to move his hand among us.  
"You." he said again and put his arm down and back behind his back with his other arm. "Most of you are being deployed to a small region where it is believed the enemy is moving to. You are going to observe any movement that comes by. Another group will be sent into reinforce the marines."  
We sat there in disbelief that we where actually being deployed for battle.

"Commanders." said the general.  
The COs of the 15th Airborne stepped up to the general. They talked over things, I couldn't here. I heard someone whimpering. I looked to my right, it was the war-hawk. He was crying a bit and his legs where shaking. Shaking just like the soldier who got yelled at by the general when we first dropped in. I was looking at the real him. I felt bad for the man for some reason. I looked back at the COs and the general.

The COs snapped to attention and saluted to the general and turned to us. Our commander stepped forth.  
"Fifth squad! Mount up on the far left Pelican now!" He yelled.  
I looked at Steve and Dave.  
"Where going to fight aren't we." said Steve. I stayed silent.  
We made our way to the far left Pelican and got in with the others from our squad. A guy came up to the Pelican dragging a rope tied to a large piece of wood. On the plank of wood where guns. Another guy came into sight dragging a plank off wood that had ammo on it and held a helmet in his other hand.

The mechanized soldier who dragged up the guns pulled out a piece of paper read it. He called out a name and handed that person a gun, the same kind of gun we had been issued. The other man gave ammo to the person as well. He also pulled out a M9 Frag Grenade from the helmet and handed a belt as well. Soon we all had our guns and ammo and where loading them and readying for combat. The soldiers ran off as the alarms flared off again.

"What, no more vehicles or something." I said aloud.  
"Yeah, bringing the things in on planks of wood makes us look bad." Someone else said.

I ended up sitting between two grunts. I looked at the one on my right, the man in his red mechanized armor and found myself wondered if he was going to die in the time coming. Steve sat across from me and Dave sat beside him. I leaned out and peaked out the back. I saw our CO making his way to the dropship. He soon mounted up.

He stood at the back for a second.  
"Alright boys..." He started and paused. "Are we ready!"  
"Boyeah!" We all said and started hitting the floor with the butts of our guns, just like during drill practices during training. Our CO walked up to the dropships cockpit door.  
"Lets go!" He yelled inside.  
We all quit hitting the floor with our guns. The dropship flared up even more as the dropship lifted off the ground and began to fly out into the open skies.


	5. Skirmish

The Pelican flew low and quick above the ground. Dirt and rocks kicked up against the bottom of the dropship, we where only about eight or so feet from the ground. We had been flying for around thirty-five minutes and had left the snowy region and came into a area that had none. It was mainly all dirt and canyon like with some grass here and there, from what I could make out when leaning out my seat and looking out the back.

"Alright boys." said the CO. "Heres our orders."  
I had been waiting for our direct orders since we took off and almost began to wonder if he was going to tell us.  
"We are coming up on a hill region with lots of side cliffs and tunnels. We believe the EWCU will be coming though here. We will hold up in the hill sides and observe what they do if they come. We have been told that we are to defend ourself as we see fit as well."  
He glanced at all of us, we all had our eyes fixed on him.  
"Once we drop off, we can't leave for another four or so hours and expect no help." His head hanged downward a bit. "Prepare yourself." he added and walked back into the cockpit.

We sat there quietly. We where all thinking to ourself. The dropship swung to the left and did a one-hundred-eighty degree turn into a stop. We all swayed to one side and back to the other with the movement. The dropship hovered for a second and began to lower down. We where at the LZ.  
"Pile out boys!" Barked Ryan.

We all hoped out and six or so feet down to the ground and set up a defensive circle around the dropship in the daylight. The Pelican engines heated up more and it was soon off. We sat there for a second. The CO was scanning the environment.

I glanced around. We where on a small hill. In front of me was a small cliff that cut into the a gigantic hillside, the cliff formed a walkway along to the left that feed up into a cave on the hillside on the left, it also entered into another cave on the right.  
"Sir." I said. The CO came over to me. I pointed out the small cliff ahead of me, and traced my finger along it to the left which led into a tunnel on the high ground.  
"Lets move!" Yelled the CO.  
We made our way to the small cliff and hopped up and made our way down the cliff side to the tunnel. The dirt cliff side curved into the tunnel. So there was a bit of the hill side in front of the tunnel, meaning we could use the high ground against an enemy attack from the front.

The cliff side also slanted up to about two feet at the entrance to the cave, enough for one or two mean do kneel down behind and have cover.  
"Squad gunner." said Ryan.  
Steve and Jake jogged over to him. "Set your M41 up here, behind this small ground bump." He ordered.  
It was a good idea to set the MG behind the cover. It drastically strengthened our defences. He also ordered three men down to the end of the cliff, where we had come up, to prevent the enemy from using the flanking tunnel or using the way we came in to get up where we where.

"Thomas." Ryan called out to me.  
"Yes, sir." I replied as I walked up to him.  
"The small cave below us. Go down there and rig a trap." He told me.  
"A trap sir?" I asked.  
"Yes." he replied "If the enemy gets below us, they will most like take cover in the tunnel against the fire of the flankers down at the end of the cliff where we came up. When they go in, I want them to come back out... In pieces."  
"Yes, sir." I answered and made my way down.

I looked at the small cave and questioned on how to make a trap. I finally got an idea. I headed back up and got a piece of string from the team sapper, the one that should of been doing what I was but was also busy doing something else at the end of the walk path. I took two M9 Frag Grenades and planted them into the sides of the cliff a small bit, at the front. I took the string and tied it around the switches of the frags. When the enemy came running in, they would trip on the wire, causing the switches to flip and set the grenades off three seconds later.

I felt quite content with myself, having set up a trap all by myself. I made my way back up the dirt cliff to the rest of the team in the tunnel. I sat by Dave who was sitting on the edge of the cliff by Steve. We gazed out at the environment. The path ahead and extremely hilly. The smaller hills had grass on them, while the one that where a bit bigger didn't.

Way out to the far right we made out a cliff side that circled around a wall of rock. Gazing more to our right, we made a patch of about twenty or so large stones, about fifteen feet big in each direction, for each of them.

"Do you think they'll come?" I asked.  
"Na, if they come, they'll be running and the marines will be right behind them." replied Dave. We chuckled.  
"You guys, into the cave also." said a voice.  
We glanced back behind us. It was Ryan.  
"Lets go. Into the cave. We don't want them to see you if they come."  
We got up and walked into the cave with him. I sat down up against the wall like everyone was. It was extremely quiet. It made me feel uneasy.  
I moved my body around on the dirt ground and got myself into a leaning position against the wall a bit better. I put my gun up against the wall and closed my eyes. Within minutes I was in a light sleep.

I awoke about a hour later to find everyone peaking out though the cave entrance and looking down the way though the open lands. I sat up more. Even Steve and Dave where looking out.  
"What's happening?" I asked and grabbed my rifle and stood up.  
"We just noticed there's a structure out there, way out in the distance." said some soldier.  
"So." I replied and walked up to join them.  
"Its crawling with The Royal Troop." said the soldier. I froze.  
"How do you know this?" He pointed out to a small hill out in the distance a bit. I look out and noticed Ryan out there with binoculars. He was observing way out in the distance, farther than I could see.

After a few minutes he stood up and began to make his way back to us. He soon entered the tunnel again.  
"So what's out there?" I asked.   
"Infantry." he replied catching his breathe. "They also seem to have warthogs as well." He glanced around at us. "They know where here." he said softly.  
My heart beated a bit faster.  
"How do you know that?" Asked a soldier. He looked over at him.  
"They where there before we even landed, i'm sure of it. I'm sure they know where here as well." he paused. "Their numbers have grown to, since last time I went out and checked."

I looked out into the open. I couldn't see the structure. Amazed that they where possibly there the entire time. I looked back at Ryan. He had picked up a rock and was drawling out their positions on the ground.  
"Here they have about twenty men, and here about seven." I looked back out as he continued.  
"They have two jeeps here and a machine gun here on the structure here."

Something caught my eye. I stepped out a small bit and glanced over toward the right a bit more. There. They where on the move.  
"There on the move!" I said. The CO rushed over and everyone grabbed their guns.  
"Where?" Asked the CO.  
"There." I said and pointed them out, they where heading for the rocky region off to our right..  
Ryan put on his binoculars and put them back down.  
"David Steel! Front and center!" He had called for my bother. "You see those men out there?" Ryan asked.   
Dave glanced out and then put his sniper scope to his eyes.   
"Yes, sir, I see them now." he replied.  
"What do they have?"  
"Two of them have M7s and the other has a S2 AM Sniper, sir."  
Everyone backed away from the tunnel entrance, even I did.

"Alright then, keep your eye on that sniper. If he even points his gun out this way, shoot him. Are we clear son?" asked Ryan.  
"Sir, yes, sir!" Yelled Dave.  
Dave stepped out more went prone and Ryan stepped back in more.

"If Dave is forced to shoot. Then we know they're out to kill us." stated the CO.  
We all had our eyes on Dave. Time went by and he still just sat there. Roughly five minutes later came the snap of his rifle, followed by two more shots. We all jumped a bit and listened as the shots rang though the hills.  
"Did they point the sniper at us?" Demanded Ryan as he headed over to him.  
"Yes, sir." replied Dave. "I shot all of them, sir."

Ryan stood there for a minute.  
"Everyone ready defences now!" He yelled.  
We rushed to find a position. Steve and Jake took positions behind the cover on the MG.   
"Form a line on the cliff side!" Ordered Ryan.  
The rest of us made our way down the cliff and went prone along it. I laid on my stomach looking out at the openness of hills ahead of me. The sound of drums being played could be heard, they where going to attack.

Out in the distance I could see extremely tiny people coming into view. A long line of tiny people. They where getting bigger. They where coming for us.  
"Should I fire sir?" Asked Dave.  
"Not yet." replied Ryan.  
We listened as they got closer. We could hear them marching now. The drums where getting louder. They went out of sight behind a hill line ahead and the drums stopped.  
"If they come charging over that hill, then you may fire at will team!" Yelled Ryan. We all laid there, ready. A sudden spam of grenades flew up over the hill and landed a good distance out in front of us and exploded. They where smoke grenades. Then we could hear them.

They started yelling and we could hear them, all their feet running at us. I positioned my gun better and took aim at the smoke. They broke though the smoke. Our lines erupted and they started to drop. Some stopped and kneeled down and fired back in the open with their SMGs. I shot back and watched as my ammo indicator dropped. _53...45...32...  
_  
Steve started to chew them up with the M41 MG as they came. Not even after twenty seconds of fighting they started retreating back though the smoke.  
"Cease fire!" Yelled Ryan.  
We laid there silent. The hills ahead of us once covered in dirt where now bathed in fresh blood and bodies, I counted twenty-six dead.

Soon the sound of engines and the sound of something sliding on dirt could be heard. It was the warthogs. Fear swept over my body and my hands became sweaty in my armored gloves. I began to wonder if we could stop the warthogs or not without a rocket launcher, if they got Steve then we where doomed.

More grades flew up over the hill and landed much closer than before. Smoke came out and blocked our line of sight against them. We heard the vehicles start moving and the footsteps running again. Steve fired the MG though the smoke. Screams came out from the other side.  
"Cease F..." started the CO, until he heard the screams. "Fire, fire now!" He yelled and we all started shooting into the smoke.   
Seconds later pockets of infantry broke though. Some kneeled down and fired back as those before had. Some 'tripped' to the ground but they never got back up.

_June 14th, 2552, 10:22 PM_

The warthogs came into sight. They came up and stopped atop a hill in front of us and opened up among our lines. Men all around began to fall. Steve opened up on the vehicles with the MG. He took out everyone in one vehicle but the other went on the move, firing at him as it went. 

We all focused our fire on the jeep. I took aim at the thing and pulled the trigger slightly. A few rounds shot out, I did this over and over. Suddenly, the hog spun out of control and the driver fell out to the ground dead as it made its way up the hill in front of us and came to a stop. Steve fired on it. A few seconds later the vehicle exploded, sending parts of it everywhere, along with the gunner and passenger. I leaned to my side and pulled out a fresh magazine from my belt and reloaded my assault rifle.

The Royal Troop made its way below us. The team on the far end of our line, where we had come up at, opened up on them from the flank. The enemy rushed to the cave for cover... Seconds later a explosion shook the ground beneath us. The enemy troops using the hill for cover ahead of us started to retreat back toward the structure. Some got away, other didn't and where shot down as they ran. We had won the fight, for now.

I put my face to the ground and laughed with happiness. I looked to my left and quickly quit laughing. Three guys lay dead and one other man did as well to my right. Everyone else was letting out a taunts. The men, they had been killed by the warthogs that had opened up along our lines.  
I glanced back toward the cave tunnel and found my brother standing behind Steve, looking out at the retreating enemy. Dave shot and picked off a guy way out in the distance with his sniper rifle.

I got up and headed over to him. Corpsmen came up our lines and checked for wounded and where checking the dead. We took guns and ammo from the dead and laid them inside the tunnel for now. Everyone was upset about the men lost and confused about why The Royal Troop had attacked us. It was also racing though my head. But we showed them what happens when you do. I also wondered where all their military was coming from.

I went into the tunnel and glanced over the dead. All wore red armor, all where basic mechanized soldiers. They where placed by the huge amount of packages off food. I stopped at the third body in the line, it was the war-hawk. I walked over and kneeled down beside him and removed his helmet. Blood poured out the front and back of his head and a stench filled the air, a bullet had gone though his upper head and out the upper back.

The guy, I had took for as a man from his deep voice was actually a kid, possibly eighteen years old. He was a mix of white and black and had a babies face, puffy cheeks and a small nose. I looked at him a bit, I began to wonder if I would had ever figured this man out. Tears came out of my eyes a bit. I put his helmet back on him and walked away as drums began to play out in the distance.


	6. Goodbye Friend

_June 15th, 2552, 1:49 AM_

We had all been sitting there in the tunnel for a few hours now. We all remained silent.

Ryan was kneeled down looking out from the tunnel entrance with his binoculars watching any troop movement. The remaining twenty of us sat there wondering what will happen next. We had killed around seventy of them at the cost of four of our own, would we lose more ahead I wondered. 

A few soldiers where whispering to each other.  
"If they knew we where here, why would they attack when at such a disadvantage? Not only do we got the environment for support but also where mechanized and their basic troops. Why would they do something so stupid?" I could hear one man asking.  
"Hell if I know. They got their reasons though." another replied.

I glanced over at them and then looked away.  
'Why.' I said as I turned to my left, thinking Steve was there.  
"Why, what?" Asked a grunt soldier that sat beside me.  
He looked at me and I was looking at him.  
"Sorry, I thought you where someone else." I replied and looked away.  
I had forgot Dave and Steve where on patrol with a small group. They had taken the sniper and MG to use as defence cause they where more outnumbered out there than we where back here at the tunnel.

I sat my gun aside and got up and stretched out my body. I made my way to the tunnel entrench and looked out. All was quiet and looked peaceful, except for the bodies. I looked out at the cliff side to the right, by the group of large rocks and saw Jake, Dave, and Steve with another trooper. They where making there way up the cliff side. 

"What are you having them do?" I asked Ryan who sat nearby. He glanced up at me and replied.  
"I told them to move to that hill out there. From there they can be our forward eyes. Mainly I want them to observe what's going on and check for possible snipers along the way." he pointed out to the bodies on the hill. "Then when we know its safe. Well go over there and check for intel on the dead over there.

"May I go join my brother, sir?" I asked. He looked up at me again.  
"Go join them?" He asked puzzled. "You would be by yourself on the way there." he added.  
"I don't care sir." I answered. He continued to glare at me, then stood up. He walked closer to me.  
"Alright. Heres what well do. The soldier I have with them is to relay messages back and forth between us. You will do that instead." I looked at him though his visors. I could make out a little of him but not much, not enough to get an expression that may help on what he's thinking.

"Alright." I answered.  
"Okay then. Get your gun and get over there." He turned and put the binoculars up to his visor and glanced out.  
I grabbed my gun and made my way down the cliff way. I got to the end where the flankers where at.  
"Where you going?" One asked. I stopped and looked at him.  
"To the enemy in a manner of speaking." I said.  
They patted me on the back and I turned and hopped down into the grass below.

I started making my way down along the cliff side toward the small cave where I had set the traps up at. I glanced in as I walked by and stopped in disbelief. I put my gun up and looked down the sight.  
"Don't move!" I yelled.  
A Royal Trooper was alive in the cave and had a slightly damaged radio by him. '_Oh shit' _I thought to myself as I looked at the radio. Ryan looked down at me from the cliff above.  
"What's going on?" He asked.  
I went into the cave and pulled out the man. He was hurt bad.  
"Is he alive?" Ryan asked. I looked up  
"Yes, sir. He's got a radio too sir."

Ryan jumped off from the cliff and landed with a thump on the ground. He stood up and bolted into the cave where the radio was. I knew what he was doing, he was checking to see if the radio was transmitting.  
"Fuck!" Yelled Ryan. He brought out the radio and slammed it to the ground in front of the wounded soldier. He looked up at me.  
"It was transmitting wasn't it?" I asked.  
"Yes." he answered.

I knew it, the enemy was listening in on everything we where saying and reported movements we had made. I glanced over at where Steve and Dave where in fear.  
"They know we have troops on that cliff." Ryan stated softly.  
Ryan looked over at the wounded soldier, then walked up beside him. The wounded man watched Ryan in fear, he swallowed to clear his throat. Ryan examined the soldier and kneeled down beside him.

"Êàê Âàñ çîâóò ñûí." Ryan said.  
I glanced at him strangely from the language he was speaking.  
"Abakum." replied the man who started to shake a bit.  
I glanced at the wounded soldier and knew he was about to die.  
"Ñêàæèòå ìíå, ÷òî Âû çíàåòå." Ryan said.   
There was a silence between the two of them for a second.  
"Íîâîå ïðîèñõîæäåíèå." replied the man and began to laugh slightly. Ryan stood up. The soldier started to cough allot and continued shaking. The trooped looked up into the sky, he's body quit moving and his mouth opened up a bit.

"What did you say to him? What did he say?" I asked Ryan.  
Ryan looked over at me.  
"I asked him his name and what he knew... He gave me his name and answered 'A new genesis' for what he knew."   
I stood there confused. What could he have meant by 'a new genesis.' I glanced back at the cliff where Dave and Steve where. I had forgot about them in the moment.  
"Get going, get them back here." Ryan ordered.  
I looked up at the hillside where Ryan had hopped down from. Faces peaked over the edge above, the others had been watching. I glanced off toward the large group of rocks that lay ahead. I decided to head that way first and make my way up the cliff side to Steve and Dave. I bolted off.

I was at the rocks within six minutes of sprinting. I stopped and sat down on one of them to catch my breathe. I had sprinted from our position to here. My armor and equipment I had to take along really tired me after running. I looked to my left though the gaps of tall standing rocks and saw the cliff side ahead. I stood up and started jogging to it.

I heard a crack and I jumped to the dirt covered ground and looked around, dust covered my sight a bit but I had my gun at the ready. I thought it was a gun shot. I looked back at my feet and saw I had stepped on a rock and it had broke under my feet. I let out a sigh and got up and continued on ahead. I came up by a rock and ahead was the cliff side, it feed directly off the ground and made it way up along the hillside.

I came up to the big rock, little rocks cracked under my feet, lots of little rocks thought until I noticed the dirt kicking up by me. I took cover in behind the nearby bolder. I peaked around and saw a figure hide back in behind where the hillside turned at. I shot back to show that I was going to fight back.

I hid in behind the bolder. Fear that my friend and my brother as well as the other man being dead hit me and anger rushed though my veins.  
"You think you can sneak up on us! I'll kick your ass you russian bastard!" A voice yelled out.  
"American!" I yelled out. "Friendly!"  
"Check, check, check!" He yelled back.  
"Woot, woot, stepping out!" I answered and stepped out with my gun above my head.

I glanced up at where the other man was, he stepped out and wore friend armor. He waved me up after he spotted me. I started on up and stopped when I reached him.  
"Sorry." He said. "I just saw a figure dash in behind a rock and thought you where one of them sneaking up on us."  
"No." I replied. "I'm here to tell you guys to head back, they know your here."  
Dave came around the corner. "Thomas." he said approached me.   
"Get Steve, we gotta go now."  
"Why?" Dave asked nervous.  
"Just do it we..." I stopped and looked out at the enemy base.  
We all turned to it, we heard the same noise. A squealing sound was coming from a distance that we couldn't see off behind their base...Tanks. There was no questioning that.   
"Lets move it!" I said.  
"Steve, Jake where going." Barked David. Seconds later they came around the corner with the MG and its bipod and ammo.

We bolted down the hillside toward the the rocks and out into the open toward our defensive point. We ran as hard as we could. We started to come up on our point and I saw Ryan step out onto the hillside.  
"Tanks!" I yelled, "They got fucking tanks!"  
He quickly went back in. We made our way to the flankers.  
"Tanks are coming, get into the tunnel with the others!" I screamed. They started their way up the hillside to the tunnel, us right behind them.

We all came dashing in. I dropped to the ground when we got in and laid there catching my breath. Ryan came over to me  
"Are you sure soldier?" He asked rather loud.  
"Yes, sir." I said panting. "We could hear the squealing of them off in the distance."  
Ryan paused and looked over toward the dead. I looked over in that direction at the dead sacks full of packages of food and water in bottles.

Ryan walked over to the sack on the far left and opened it. I was surprised to see he pulled a radio out of it as he sat it on the ground beside him. He also pulled a headset with a attached mic on it out of the bag as well. I began to wonder what exactly was in all those bags with the labeled 'food and water'. He flipped a switch and entered a bunch of numbers on the top of the radio box. He put the headset on and sat there.

"This is commander Ryan of fifth squad, fifteenth airborne troop, American division." he started. "Id code 0027269." He sat there for a few seconds again.  
We all watched, our eyes focused on him.   
"Field report." he said into the mic and sat again. "Cutting short. Four men lost by enemy attack on our position. Assault was repealed. Reco..." he stopped for a second.  
"Yes. Yes, sir. Recon was launched, we have enemy armor inbound to our position." he said.  
"What!" Someone among us yelled and then was quickly silenced by everyone.

I stood there. I heard it... the squealing. I stepped out and looked out toward the enemy position. I couldn't see anything still, but I could hear the squealing of the tanks. Others began to emerge out as well.  
"Copy that, sir." said Ryan over the radio. "Over and out."   
I looked back in at Ryan.  
"Fall in." he said.  
We all took a knee in by him.

Evac is on the way." he stated.  
We all let out a sigh of relief.  
"But... the enemy is sure to attack before they arrive." he stopped.  
We all sat there for a minute. I sat my blackish-gray rifle down and looked back up at Ryan.  
"Heres what well do. Thomas." he said.  
"Yeah." I replied.  
"You and I will make our way down to those trees our there." He said and pointed out.  
I looked out the tunnel and saw the trees a ways out. It was about as far as Ryan had gone to observe the enemy with his binoculars.  
"Why sir?" I asked.  
"Don't question." he said. "Dave!."  
"Yes,sir." my brother replied.  
"You will cover us against infantry with the sniper rifle. Don't shoot until we've bombed the armor with our grenades."  
"Yes, sir." Dave replied and got into position.

So now I knew what we where doing. We where going to advance and hide under the cover of the three trees and ambush the armor with our nuclear grenades.  
"Everyone else will hold inside the cave. Fix your bayonets, the enemy will most likely to breach the position."   
Everyone pulled their bayonets off their belt and attached them to their guns.  
Within seconds we acquired some string from the squad sapper.  
"Lets move!" Yelled Ryan and where out of the tunnel heading down the cliff side

We came up along the hillside that was opposite to the position where the others where in the cave. It didn't stretch out as far as the one where the cave was in. We came up the the corner where it turned left and the three trees would be at. We came to a sudden stop.

"Òàêèì îáðàçîì òàì â òóííåëå íà òîì ñêëîíå?." I heard a voice say.  
The voice came from the trees.  
"Äà òîâàðèù."  
Ryan looked at me. Shocked that the enemy was on the other side of the corner by the trees as well.  
"What he say?" I whispered to Ryan.  
"He asked someone if our position was in that tunnel. The other said yes." Ryan whispered back to me.  
We sat there listening, Ryan translating quietly to me about what they said.

"Âû óâåðåíû òàì âñå åùå òàì, ÿ íå âèæó íèêàêîãî âèäà äâèæåíèÿ òàì?"  
-Are you sure there still there, I don't see any kind of movement up there?-  
"Îíè òîâàðèù."  
-They are comrade-  
"ß íå ìîãó æäàòü, ÷òîáû îòîìñòèòü òîìó, ÷òî îíè ñäåëàëè íàøèì ñîðàòíèêàì çäåñü. ×òî ìû áóäåì äåëàòü äëÿ ýòîãî êîìàíäóþùåãî íàïàäåíèÿ?"   
-I can't wait to get back at what they did to our fellow soldiers here. What will we be doing for this attack commander?-

This is something we need to know, Ryan listening in carefully.  
"Ìû áóäåì ïîðàçèòåëüíû ñêîðî. Áûëî ïîñëåäíåå, ÷òîáû íàáëþäàòü ïîëîæåíèå, òîãäà âñå ìû íàïàäàåì. Ìû áóäåì íàïàäàòü ñ äðóãèìè êîìàíäàìè ïåõîòû íàøåãî ðàçäåëåíèÿ. Ýòî áóäåò ñîñòîÿòü èç íàñ Êîðîëåâñêîãî Îòðÿäà, òðåõ ðåçåðâóàðîâ, è êîìàíäû ìå÷èíèçåä ïåõîòû."  
-We will be striking soon. Were the last to observe the position, then we all attack. We will be attacking with other infantry squads of our division. It will consist of us of the Royal Troop, three tanks, and a squad of mechanized infantry.-

They said a few other things, but Ryan didn't translate for some reason. They laughed slightly about something and then I could hear them leaving.  
"So they've been watching us for awhile from this position." Ryan said. "Now they will be attacking with armor and mechanized infantry, like ourself."  
I stayed quite, I knew we would not hold under those conditions.  
"Lets go." said Ryan and he moved around the corner.

We came up to the trees, which also consisted of a large rock. We hid in behind them. I looked out and could see The Royal Troop squad heading off to the structure, the one that was just here. I watched them. One tripped to the ground and the others stopped to help him up. Another dropped to the ground along with another.  
"Sir." I said.  
We looked out and soon they had scrambled out. Another dropped and another. Soon they where all down on the ground, dead.

Ryan looked back at the tunnel with his binoculars.  
"Your brother shot them." he said. "He better not of given away our movement somehow..." he paused and looked out at the dead bodies. "We gotta move them." he said.  
"Why?" I asked, "Isn't it better that there dead?"  
"No, if they come over that hill and see them dead out here, then they may think where out here somewhere. It could give us away."

I looked around, the dead bodies where a bit out from our position. Further out than even the dead body that Dave had shot while they retreated from the previous fight. I realized that if the enemy had been here after that fight a few times. They may notice the new bodies out here and get suspicious.  
"Your right." I said.

We dashed out and grabbed hold of the closest bodies and began to drag them back across the rough dirt, each of us dragging two of them. We got them back to our position and where about to head back for the others when the sound of drums started playing. I looked back out. We had only made it worse, now a line of blood was pointing at us.  
"Shit!" Ryan said madly when he noticed. "Forget it, listen, take this piece of string and tie all your grenades together." he ordered and handed me a piece of string and I did as I was told.  
Ryan did the same thing.

I held the tied grenades consisting of two frags and the nuclear grenade.  
"Now when we throw them, pull all the pins at once, toss your grenades on the armor. Hopefully this will damage them enough to put them out of the fight." he said.  
I swallowed a knot that had developed in my throat.

The enemy started to form up. We could hear the squealing of the armor and the ground around us shook slightly. The armor came up over the hill first, followed by the infantry. I could see units of The Royal Troop and Russian mechanized in their shinny blue armor. Fear swept past me.  
"Don't freeze up." I whispered to myself. "Stay clam." The armor started to come by us.  
"Now!" Said Ryan. He pulled the pins on his and thew them out in front of the tank. I threw mine... but I didn't pull the pins.

Ryan didn't notice but would find out when they didn't go off. His landed and a tank rolled right beside it. The grenade exploded. I watched the thing go off and as the metal armor of the tank being torn apart and people scream. Pieces of the tank hit my armor as well. A second detonation happened, mine had gone off. I watched as more of the tank and another took damage followed by more screams and flying bodies. I sat there in disbelief mine had gone off. The explosion from his must of set off the frags which set off the nuclear one I thought to myself.

"Lets go Ryan!" Ryan said, pulling me up a bit with him. We bolted around the corner, gunfire hit the side of the hill as we ran by. We then heard the crack of Daves sniper going off. We stopped at the small ledge where the flanker would have been and hoped up. A tank rolled around the corer and fired at the top of the cliff. Putting a new mini cave above the cave entrance where the others where. Chunks of rock rolled off and fell down the cliff side.

"This way!" Ryan said and took off the the right, away from the others. I took off after him.  
We entered the flanking cave which turned out to be a tunnel and stopped. I looked down the tunnel a bit and saw water at the bottom where it sloped down the most.

Ryan peaked around the corner at the enemies. He opened up on them and I turned back to him. I head small splashes. I turned toward the water and saw Royal Troop infantry coming this way. I pulled my gun up and took aim, they noticed me. I fired, filling the air with a spray of bullets. The three man team dropped into the water dead. Ryan glanced over.  
"Watch the rear!" He yelled and then continued to fire at the enemy.

Seconds later Ryan feed in behind the wall as the tanks machine gun fired at him.   
"Thomas." Ryan said. "Go down the tunnel here, try to flank the firing line that putting fire on the tunnel where the others are!" He ordered.  
I paused.  
"Thomas!" He yelled.  
"Yes..Yes, sir!" I yelled back.  
The order caused me to panic, but I forced myself to go anyway. I felt the warm water on my legs and I looked down. I wasn't in the water yet and it couldn't touch me while in my armor. I had wet myself a bit in fear. I ignored it and made my way though the water. After crossing the water I came up to a corner and light coming out the other side. I peaked around and at the entrance, it was clear. I made my way up and out.

I looked around. The three trees where a bit off to my right along with a Royal Troops Squad. I took aim fired, killing them. I lowered my gun and looked around. A hand grabbed me on the back of my shoulder. I turned and threw a punch, knocking Ryan's visor and to the ground. I looked down at him.  
"Sorry." I said quickly as I helped him to his feet.  
"The enemy over ran my position." he said. "Get to the trees."  
We headed over and took cover in the trees. I could see mechanized infantry making there way up the hillside to the tunnel. Ryan fired behind me. I turned and found a dead russian solider fall to the ground by us.

I looked back at the small hill in the open, in front of the cave where the others where. A squad of the Royal Troop where taking cover and shooting from behind it. I reloaded my gun and took aim down their line. I fired. They jumped a bit as the rounds stuck them. One stood up and started to move down the other side of the hill for new cover. I got him in the back of the head just in time. Fire soon rained down on our position, a round hit my armor and bounced off, leaving a dent and knocking me back a bit.

"Are you alright?" Asked Ryan.  
"I'm fine." I replied as I took cover against the new threat. The fire came from the mechanized line by the tunnel entrance. I noticed about ten or so blue armored bodies on the ground in front of the tunnel entrance. I fired on the mechanized line. They lied down and fired back. Ryan joined me. We fired our MA5Bs, the enemy fired back with their SMGs. We had cover and gun advantage over them and they soon found out. They got up and retreated down the path and out of sight.

"I'll watch the rear for them!" Said Ryan.  
I looked over at the tank, I hadn't noticed its cannon was pointing straight at me. I looked at it wide eyed and jumped to the ground. The hill side beside me exploded. Dirt filled the air and chucks of rocks fell on me. The tanks machine gun opened up on my position. The tree I laid down behind started to be shredded into pieces.

I tried to move, but couldn't. My legs where pinned under large rocks, I was trapped. The tree bark was soon shredded by the tanks machine gun and broke. The tree fell to the ground with a loud whomp. Tank machine gun rounds landed all around me. I put my hands over my head, I no longer had cover.

There was a loud explosion and dirt was no longer kicking up around me. I looked up and over small pieces of rock and tree. The tank sat there smoking and on fire. In the air, a Pelican circled the position. The Pelican faced over towards me, the forward machine gun under its nose pointed toward me. It fired. Bullets filled the air by me. Screams came from around the corner in front of me, I quickly remembered the mechanized infantry that had retreated. The Pelican then took off and launched an aerial assault on the enemy structure.

I looked back as best I could and could hear the Pelicans MG firing and its AV Missile pods shooting. Explosions filled the air around the enemy base. The Pelican soon returned.

"Thomas! Thomas are you okay?" Ryan slid in beside me.  
I looked up at him.  
"Don't worry, i'll get these rocks off of your legs." he said laughing.  
I felt the rocks being moved around. I was glad I had mechanized armor or the rocks would have crushed my legs. Soon one leg was free and my other followed soon after.  
"Can you get up?" Ryan asked.  
"I think so." I replied and stood up. My legs where a bit shaky though. The Pelican circled our position and touched down on the hill in front of the tunnel, where we had been dropped off at.

"Lets get out of here." Ryan said laughing a bit from happiness.  
We headed off toward the dropship. "Go get the others, tell them where leaving and get them loaded up. I got to talk to the pilots." Ryan said.  
"Yes, sir." I answered happily and headed off to the others.  
I got up toward the entrance. About fifteen dead people in blue mechanized armor lay there in front of the entrance.  
"Friendlies!" I yelled.  
"Come on in." someone said back. I entered.

Everyone was in the back corner, away from the cave entrance. Steve had the M41 set up looking at the entrance, easily explaining why so many dead people lay there. Everyone inside here seemed fine, the enemy was not able to breach.  
"Lets move, evac is here!" I announced.  
Everyone let our a cheer and dashed out. Jake and Steve un did the MG. I waited for them, Dave was with us too. Together we made our way out and down the hillside and to the dropship. The CO stood outside the dropship waiting for us. I stopped for a second and viewed the land while Steve, Jake and Dave got on. The hills around us where covered with bodies, blood, smoke, and fire. Busted up tanks and torn apart bodies lay everywhere. I had never realized what a actual fight would turn out like. I looked back at the dropship and got on. .

The CO looked around and then looked in the back at us. He began to speak.  
"You all will remember this day... You will remember it until you die." He started.  
I looked at Ryan, I had great respected for our new CO.  
"You all fought long and hard, I never commanded a better group of men... and never will until we meet again."  
We all looked at him. He smacked the side of the dropship a few times and the dropship started to lift off, Ryan not onboard. He saluted as the Pelican started to take off.

I started to stand up and was held down, we where already airborne. I yelled out his name as we flew off without him.


	7. World War III

_June 15th, 2552, Time Unknown_

I sat in the back of the dropship. I rested my head in my right hand. Steve sat beside me and Dave across from me beside Jake. I looked out the back, the ground turned from grass into small piles of snow, twenty seconds later there was only the white of snow. I just watched out the back as we flew off for Fort Containment.

We suddenly flew over a troop movement. I stared out at it, Jake, Steve and Dave leaned and peaked out to. The troop was a convoy, I counted about six tanks, ten transport jeeps filled with mechanized troops, and four warthogs. Two armed with machine guns and the other two with a AT cannons. The convoy was a WWMF convoy. They where heading down a paved road with tree lines on each side. Such a large troop movement also showed that we had officially declared war on a military fraction and where heading out.

I slouched out in my seat as much as I could and leaned my head back against the top of the seat. I fell asleep, exhausted from all the fighting.

I awoke as the dropship bumped to the ground as it landed. Snowfall blew into the back of the dropship where we sat. We pilled out. A CO stood there and told us to enter the fort. We where all silent as we made our way. As we entered the fort, marines passed out cards to us. I looked over the marines, none where the one I had gotten into a fight with.

I looked at the card. It was good for ten extra hours and a free meal along with what we already had for the day. Someone directed us to the left away from the quarters when we entered. We sat at the area where Ryan had first briefed us for our deployment to this fort. I began to think why he stayed or if he even was still alive.  
"You going to be okay?" Jake has asked me.  
I looked over at the gunners mate. I didn't reply and turned my attention away from him.

We where told to wait for a bit. We stood around for a few minutes until the general made his way up in front of us. He looked over a few papers and then handed them off to a CO who walked away with them.  
"Alright listen up." the general said. "For those of you who don't know me much, my name is Brock Flood. I would like to congratulate you on your victory." he paused. "As for your CO, Ryan." he started again. I listened closely. "He is staying behind to direct troop movement in the area which you where at. We sent out a convoy of units to his position not to long ago."

So now I knew why he had stayed behind and where the convoy was going.  
"I also would like to fill you in on what has happened while you have all been gone for the last few hours. The WWMF contacted the EWCU about the recent attacks. The EWCU replied, but I don't know what they said. A little while ago, a French troop joined the Russians in a attack at where the marines where stationed at. The soldiers from your troop that reinforced and the marines there where overrun and killed."

Brock quit talking. I looked down at the snow covered ground and kick at it. The marine I had caused some trouble with was dead. I didn't know him much, but I knew he was a good man and was a little upset he had died.  
"We have officially declared war on the EWCU's Russian and French Divisions." announced Brock. "The British have also decided to step in and have sided with us."

So now the WWMF's American and British divisions had declared war on the EWCU's Russian and French Divisions I thought to myself, how far would this go. Where we now still two allied sides or single nations, working on their own. I couldn't believe what was happening. I let my gun drop to the ground. The people around me looked over my way from the sound and then turned back to focus on Flood.  
"You all have been given additional sleeping hours and a extra meal. Use it while you can. That is all." said Brock.  
He saluted us and walked off with two other CO's.

We all stood up and looked around. We started to make our way to the quarters.  
"How about we all go get some food?" Stated Dave.  
"Alright." I replied.  
"Would you care to join us Jake?" Asked Steve, he accepted.  
We made our way down to the line. I put my tray out ready for them to put a bowl down on it and dump some stew in it. Instead the person set out a steak on my tray. I looked at it for a minute and continued down the line. Soon I was at the end and waited for the others.

This time the meal was Steak with mashed potatoes with choice of gravy along with jello or pudding. The drink was a bottle of cola and they also gave us a bottle of cold water for later. We sat in the snow and ate all of it, it was was all good. We ate it pretty quick, talking here and there about the fight we had gotten out of, what we thought we would be doing next, and Ryan a bit. When we where done, we stacked our empty trays by the waste bin and started to make our way out of the area. The others decided to play a game of cards while I went to the restroom to take a shit. I emerge a few minutes later.

We went over and sat down at the 'balcony'. We sat a little further over so we wouldn't knock snow on the guards below. We continued our chattering and it wasn't long before the sandman had hit us. We all hoped off of the side and landed below by the guards, causing them to jump. I stood up and looked at them. They where both mechanized troops. I couldn't make out much of there feature.

We handed them our cards and they looked them over, we entered in. A guard took us a bit further down the way inside and we entered another room a ways down. Inside where beds with pillows and blankets. We looked at them, our eyes wide.

"Then general has issued soldiers who have gotten back from combat access to these beds." the guard said. "You may sleep in them until your time is up." he finished.  
We thanked him and took off our armor. The room was close to the other room we slept in. The light in this one where allot dimmer and was easily a better place to sleep. The walls went straight up to the roof, rather than slope out and was a lot warmer.

We laid our armor under our beds and crawled into bed in our boxers. We sat around talking. The blankets where actually heavy sheets that where kind of see though up close, but kept you quite warm. Me, Jake, and Dave where sitting up in our beds talking to each other, Steve fell asleep. We sat up for about another thirty minutes talking then we all finally crashed.

I awoke hours later from a nightmare of the fight we had earlier. I looked around sweating and catching my breath to find everyone else still asleep. There where also other soldiers in other beds now. I looked over at a wall and found a line or armor laying up against it. I saw mine, it was under a clock. I didn't notice the clock before and looked at the time. It was going on eleven-thirty in the morning. I sat up and sat on the edge of my bed and rubbed the crust out of my eyes.

I walked over to my armor. It had been cleaned and the dent from the bullet that hit is was gone. I also saw my company uniform in front of it on the floor. I decided to put it on rather than wear my armor around everywhere.

I emerged from the room and walked out. It was still snowing but the wind was gone. I walked up to the top of the wall and looked out. I noticed troops where on patrol now. They also had a firing line out in the distance where soldiers where doing shooting practices. I also noticed a drill course that wasn't there before. I looked harder out at all of the soldiers doing the drills and weapons practices. It hit me. They where troops of the British Division.

The British must of come in and dropped off mechanized troops while I was asleep. I walked over to the stationary gunner and asked him when they showed up. He replied that they had dropped in just about three hours ago and that was all he knew about them. I thanked him for the information and made my way down the line to go used the restroom.

I used the bathroom and came out. I looked out at the British soldiers. They where all circled around someone, a Brit CO. They where being briefed on something. A little later four Pelicans landed nearby and they where soon on them and gone.  
"Must be on the attack." said a soldier by me.  
"Yep." I replied.

I got the hint quick. I made my way down to where my armor was. I showed my card and stepped in. I picked up my armor and looked over it and realized it wasn't the same one as before, but a band new one. Same design and everything. I snapped the leg armor on and followed by the upper body. I looked down and noticed that my gun was there too. It was behind the upper body part and I hadn't seen it before. I picked it up and looked it over, it was the same gun I used during the last fight, and I knew I was going to use it again real soon. I put on my helmet and locked it into place.

I looked around the room.  
"Any second now." I said to myself. I exited the building and made my way to the guards and out the wall door. The alarms flared off.


	8. Rising War

_June 16th, 255211:51 AM_

I stood by the entrance with the guards at the sleeping quarters waiting for Steve, Dave, and Jake while they got ready. I could hear a distant sound, it sounded like a low pitch squeaking. It soon turned into a thunderous noise. I looked off into the air a bit to my left, thats where it was coming from. I dashed to the wall and made my way to the top of it by the stationary guard. He too was looking out that way, everyone around me was.

The sound turned into a shriek, almost like a banshee and a squadron of about ten Longswords screamed by overhead. I turned my head around to follow them as everyone else did. The sound returned to a thunderous noise and began to quiet down into a squeak again, soon it was gone. I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and I glanced over to find Steve, Dave and Jake coming up.

"What the hell was that noise?" Dave asked me.  
"C709 Longswords." I replied. "Something big must be happening." I added.  
We all looked out that way where the longswords had headed off to. The speakers sounded up, someone was tapping on the mic and we could hear it.  
"Fifthteenth Airborne report to the firing range."

"Firing range?" asked Jake, "I didn't know there was a firing range?"  
"There is." I replied. "Out there." I pointed to it. "They made it last night."  
"Huh." replied Steve, he coughed a little afterward.

We made our way to the firing range. It was a lot bigger than I thought. It had been quickly made, it had sections of wood that stood out with gaps in between and down the range was a thick piece of wood about three-hundred feet long. "Where the hell did they find a tree was that long?" I asked.  
"Shit if they know." I replied.  
We stood around until a CO came up to us.

"What are you all standing around for!" he yelled. "Find a section that has your issued gun and start shooting!"  
"Yes, sir." we barked back.  
"We outta shoot him." Jake said. We laughed a bit.  
I found a area with the gun I had been issued. It was beside the area with the M41. I looked out at the huge piece of tree and became curious. Where we to just shoot the wood, what kind of practice would that be.

I picked up my gun and didn't even take aim. I shot and struck the wood, others started shooting as well.  
"Shoot only one clip!" yelled the CO and he started walking down our lines behind us.  
I shot off my clip and reloaded and stood waiting. After we where all done, only Steve remained shooting.  
"Alright, cease fire gunner!" The M41 went silent.

"Well. At least you can shoot!" yelled the CO. "Lets see about a target!" I looked out into the snow.  
Pieces of wood shot up out of them from the ground, I was then able to make out the metal line that ran across the ground in front of the large piece of wood. I also noticed another metal line behind that one, it extended throughout the three-hundred feet of the firing line.

A target popped up in front of each of us on the first flipping rail. I fired. Soon after other began to as well. I tore though my target on full auto until my clip was gone. The thin piece of wood flew back down to the ground as well as the others.

"Alright, well it looks like you can hit a target thats standing still! How about moving!" Yelled the unknown CO. A person shaped piece of wood shot up on the far left end on the second rail.  
"I want that piece of wood to be nothing but splinters by the time it reaches the other side!" Yelled the CO. "Fire!"  
The man with the BR55 on the far left took aim and shot, the wood took off as great speed. The entire left side to the middle was shooting at it, soon I was and so was Steve with the MG beside me. It reached the end, only a few round had actually hit it.

"Thats was some of the saddest shooting i've ever seen!" Yelled the CO as he took off his helmet and slammed it into the snow. "Again!" He yelled.  
The target on the rail at the far right by me suddenly shot off and into the air. We had been watching it that we didn't even notice the other piece making it way down. It made it to the end without even being shot at.

"What was that!" the CO screamed furious. "What the fuck was that!..." He started to walk up and down the line again. "If you don't shoot at it this time, I will have one of you run down that line and I will shoot at you myself!"  
We all got ready quickly. The piece on the right shot off the rail and the target on the left popped into view and started to make its way down the line. I opened up on it as well as Steve. It made it to the end. Only the very bottom remained of it.

"Thats much better!" Yelled the CO. "It just took a little bit of motivation!...Again!" The piece shot out and the other made it way. This time only a extremely small bit of wooded remained, enough to slide under a door while it was standing up.  
"There we go!" Yelled the CO.

I heard someone sneeze.  
"Shit!" I heard Steve say, Jake broke into a mad laugh.  
I couldn't see it, but I laughed at the thought of it.   
"Is there something funny down there!" Yelled the CO. Steve stepped out.  
"I sneezed in my helmet sir. May I go clean it out?" He asked.  
Others began to laugh.  
"No!" Yelled the CO and everyone became silent. "Do you think the EWCU is going to stop their assault on your position so you can go clean out your helmet!"  
Steve looked at the man, I could see the spray of snot on his visor, even in the snowfall.  
"No sir... but." He began to reply.  
"Good then, where on the same page!" the CO interrupted. "Now man your weapon!"

"Stupid mother fucker." Steve said under his breath and kneeled down back into position to man the MG.  
"Again!" yelled the CO.

We did this for about thirty minutes. Steve didn't preform as well. He was coughing a lot and couldn't see though the snot on his visor.  
"Fall in!" Yelled the CO. We put the guns up and made our way to him, taking a knee when we where there.  
"Tomorrow you are being deployed again." He started. "Nearly everyone at the fort here is being deployed... A few hours ago we got word that Australia and Germany have entered the war and as you should know, those are EWCU nations." We all began to chatter. "Shut it!" the CO yelled. "Do to this, Brazil and Mexico have entered on our side to help even the odds... Its officially been declared as the Third Great War, or World War Three."

I looked at the ground in disbelief, we all began chattering a bit. "Shut up!" the CO yelled again. "And stay quiet until I dismiss you!" He added. "You are being re-deployed back under the command of Ryan Smith."  
I looked up, excited to the fact that I would get to see Ryan again, but still down and scared that the world was going into World War Three. Would it break out into nuclear warfare next? This though of nukes being used scared me even more.

"You are going back to the area where you where first deployed. Ryan will brief you when you get there. Just remember not to act so stupid on the field like you did during practice today. Dismissed!" the CO yelled and we got up and made our way back to the fortress gates.  
I started imaging on the way to the gates. The snowfall we walked though now was a fall of ash from the nuclear fallout. The air, already cold got much colder and I would be walking this same path, though a wave of dead bodies. There would be some survivors but they would look disfigured and unhuman. The thought raced though my mind the entire day.

_ June 18th, 2552, Noon_

I made my way into the dropship by Jake, Steve and Dave. I sat down and put my gun between my legs. The pilot looked out though the cockpit door to make sure everyone was on. We sat down and we where soon off for war.  
"Oh man. My stomachs upset." Steve said and put his hands around his gut.  
"Your probably ate something bad." Jake replied. "Its happened to me too at the camp." He finished, chuckling a bit.

We where moving rather quick. I glanced out the back and couldn't make out anything, it was flashing by to quick. It was like trying to count the lines in the middle of a highway when going about a hundred miles per hour. I leaned back in and put my head up against the wall.  
"So, what to do you think it will be like this time." I said.   
"Shit." said a soldier I didn't know. "It's going to more FUBAR than ever." he said.  
"Well still win, well send them running again." another soldier said.  
"Its going to be easy. May even be fun." said yet another man.  
"Oh really, if it was so easy, then why are we being sent out." said Dave. The guy paused during his response.  
"So... we don't... miss out on the fun..." He answered.  
"Shit." said the one soldier and chuckled a bit.

"Ten minutes." Announced the pilot over the radio in our helmets.   
"Whoa." replied the one soldier. Shit, something is FUBAR." And he was right.  
Last time it took us awhile to get there, we would be arriving much sooner, we where in a rush.  
"I wonder what's going on, that we have to be there so quick." The soldier added.  
"Well lets see." said Jake. "Maybe because its World War Three."  
Everyone became quiet and looked down at the floor. Only a few coughs broke the silence.

Jake was right, it was declared as World War Three now, those words changed everything we had previously thought about the war. Any means of peace or withdrawal where now gone.

We continued on silent for about eight minutes.  
"LZ in sight." announced the pilot.  
We all locked and loaded out guns and got ready to get off.  
"We won't be touching down, you'll need to get off quick." The pilot added in.  
We flew over a giant hill that had an artillery team on it and a minute later we entered the canyon. We descended to the LZ. About ten feet from the ground the Pelican went into a hover and we started jumping out. Dust kicked up and filled the air around us. We landed with a thump to the ground and set up a circle on the ground. The Pelican took off. Small rocks kicked up and hit my visor, then the air started to clear.

Like in a action movie, someone slowly made their way though the dust, his body coming into view little by little. He had a MA5B leaned up against his shoulder. We all had our eyes fixed on him. I looked at his insignia, it was Ryan.  
"Ryan." I said and walked up to him and reached out to shake his hand.  
"Well, well if it isn't Thomas." He replied happily and shook my hand. "Its good to see my team again." He said aloud.  
I glanced around. We weren't at the are we had previous landed at. We where further back. I looked off to my right, and saw a troop defence line laying up against the top of a small mount and way out in the distance I could kind of make out the group of large rocks. I looked ahead of me and saw about four scorpion battle tanks sitting there. To my left was a structure, it had a M41 Stationary set up on the top level along with two snipers. "If you will all follow me." Ryan said and turned and walked off to the structure. We followed.

We entered the structure. It was a tad grayish-whited colored and narrow. We where at base level, there was a level below us where weapons, ammo, water, and food where stored and a uppers section where guards stood ready. We walked into the middle of the structure, the place was small be we could all 20 of us could fit.

Ryan sat down in the chair at a desk and we all stood in front of the desk, us crowding in around.  
"Okay gentlemen, now to brief you on why your here." He pulled himself closer up to the desk. "In about a hour we will launch an artillery offensive on the enemy position about a mile down the way. They have an troop strength of about a three-hundred mechinized units. We will be launching the strike on them this time." He glanced down at the papers for a minute, I looked at them and noticed it was a map with a bunch of marks and arrows on it.

"Thomas." He said. I saluted and replied.  
"Commander." He looked up at me.  
"You will take command of this squad in the attack." He said.  
"Sir?" I replied curious as to why he put me in such a position.  
"You will take command. Organize your team and get ready. You will move up the right. Another squad will attack from the left and others with protect the armor as it advances though the middle. Are we understood?" He asked.  
I snapped my heels together and stood even straighter than I had before, my shoulders started to cramp up on me.  
"Yes, sir!" I replied. "When the artillery opens up, advance and take the position. Dismissed." He added, then stood up and saluted me.

I took the side entrance out. And headed to the upper level. I felt weird having everyone follow me. I glanced out toward the enemy position as best as I could. I couldn't see anything, I was corrected when a counter sniper shot went off. Me and my team dove to the ground, the gunner on the platform did as well.  
"Don't worry, he's dead." One of the snipers said. The other sniper approached him and looked off onto a hillside though his sniper scope.  
"Right through his scope and into his eye. Nice shot mate." The sniper said.   
"Thank you." replied the shooter.

I got up and went down to the lower section, thinking it was best for us to not be up there. I went a bit into the open and turned to meet everyone following me. I looked over them, their lives where suddenly in my hands.  
"Alright." I said. Everyone glanced at me.  
I swallowed the knot in the throat and coughed.  
"Alright." I said clearly. Everyone took a knee.

"Lets get organized." I said and clapped my hands together and then flew them back behind my back. "Those of you in red armor. I wasn't eight of you to step over to the left and six to step over to the right, two are to remain in the middle."  
Everyone stayed where they where for a moment and looked at each other, finally little by little some stepped off to the sides. Soon it was how I wanted. All basic on the left and right, two in the middle. Steve, Jake, Dave stood in the middle with the two others.  
"Dave." I called.  
"Yeah." "Join the left squad please." Dave stepped over and joined the team to his left, though I meant my left, but it didn't really matter. I decided to put another two grunts on the team I issued Dave on and put them on the other team on the other side.

"Alright now, you guys on my left, you are team Alpha. You guys on my right, you are Bravo. And you guys here in the middle are Charlie."   
Alpha consisted of eight riflemen, Bravo had six riflemen and a sniper, and Charlie had two riflemen and the M41 Mobile Machine Gun. Everything seemed fairly balanced. I also issued a team leader to Alpha and Bravo, the team leader would be in charge of that team while I was at another spot. The team leader controlled the team and I controlled the team leader.

We where all set.  
"Alright everyone. At ease. You may do as you please, just stay around here. Meet up right at this sport as soon as the artillery starts firing."  
"Yes, sir!" They replied and saluted. I saluted back and we all broke apart a bit.

Jake, Dave and Steve remained by my side.  
"So..." Steve started. "Commander." He finished.  
I chuckled a bit. We made our way toward the structure and sat down in the soft grass, leaning up against it. I looked among us, mainly at Jake, the new guy among our little group.  
"So tell us a bit about yourself Jake?" I asked him.  
He glanced over at me in his red armor.  
"Like what?" He asked back.  
"Just whatever." I replied.

"Me." He started. "Well my names Jake as you know and i'm from New York but had moved there from Texas. I've been a gunners mate in the Army for about eight months now. I first saw action and was used when a riot broke out in Texas about four months ago."  
"I heard about that riot on TV." Dave interrupted. "The troops where ordered to shoot on the civilians when they attacked."   
"Yes." Jake replied. "We where, we set up a M57 Mobile Machine Gun on a car hood in the street. The crowed came down the street with knives and where throwing rocks at us and peoples houses. Someone pulled out a pistol and started shooting at us... Thats when we where told to shoot. The gunner opened up and killed many people. The crowed broke apart and ran."  
We where all looking at him, interested about what had happened.  
"We went over the bodies. One of the dead we found was my sister..." He went quiet and looked down at the ground.

We stared at him, in shock of what had happened.  
"I'm sorry for what happened." Steve said with compassion in his voice.  
"No, don't be." Jake answered back and looked back up. "She knew what she was doing. They where told to stop and go home, but they continued to damage everything in their path... She was being stupid and I hate to say, but she had it coming. I would prefer her dead before she killed anyone herself."  
He took off his helmet and sat it to the ground in front of him, between his knees by his gun. He looked over at us.

He was extremely different from what I thought he would look like. He had a scar that ran down from the top of his head and gapped by his eye and continued down to his chin and his face also had a rugged gray beard to it as it grew back in. His eyes where blue and strong looking, like he had been though hell and came back. He looked unbelievely strong just by his face, but had a wimp voice that hid it though his armor.

He glanced at us.  
"So, tell me about yourself?" He asked.


	9. The Attack

June 16th, 2552, 12:10 PM

"That's why I joined the service." Steve said. "That's all I can think of to say about my life."  
Steve had gone down into every bit of detail about the way he grew up, we had listened to him for the past thirty-five minutes.  
"You've lived quit an interesting life." Jake said laughing a bit.  
"Yeah, I suppose I have." Steve replied, deep in thought.  
Jake tossed out the cigarette he had been smoking. We sat there thinking to ourself.  
"You've lived a mixed life." Jake added in.  
"Yeah." Steve replied with a slight smile.

I looked over at Dave, he had leaned out a bit and was asleep. I pulled an apple out of my pouch and removed my helmet. I pulled out my bayonet and sliced it into pieces.  
"You all want a slice?" I asked Steve and Jake, they accepted and thanked me.  
I put a slice back in my pouch for Dave. We ate the pieces of apple and sat there.

"I remember one time." Jake started up as he put his helmet on along with Steve, I put mine on as well.  
"My dad got angry with me. I was in my room and 'BAM' he kicked the door open..."  
"Wow." I interrupted. "Nice effects."  
"What?" Jake asked.  
A faint explosion filled the air out by the enemy base. We looked out in the direction. There was another 'BAM' followed soon by an explosion, it sped up and got louder. The artillery team had begun to fire.

Another explosion followed and Dave awoke with a small jump.  
"I'm up." He said, not quite with what was going on.  
"Lets go." I said and got off and jogged off to where I set the rally point.  
Steve, Dave, and Jakob, followed behind me. I turned, other from my squad where making there way to us.  
"Squad leaders, head count on your teams." I ordered.  
All checked out, everyone was here.

"Form column in squad line behind me!" I yelled, trying to speak over the sound of the artillery explosions.  
The teamed formed up. Alpha was to my left in a line, Bravo to my right, and Charlie was right behind me.  
"Move out!" I yelled and began to walk.  
The others walked behind me, their guns leaned up against their shoulders and held in their hands, moving their left arm back and forth as they walked. We looked every organized and ready, finally doing as we where taught during training.

I looked at the other teams, they where scattered and plain bolting off. It made me feel professional to have my team organized and ready to go while the other commanders didn't.

We marched on for about ten minutes. We where soon half way between our camp and the group of large rocks that lay ahead. I began to make out movement ahead, the enemy was hiding in the rocks. I didn't think the hour was fully up, but it seemed that the enemy was instead launching a probe attack.  
"Form a firing line on that rocky position!" I barked. "And get that MG up here now!"  
The team commanders organized their men along a small hill line and ordered everyone to fire. Jake came up to the top of the hill and slammed the tripod down into the grassy hill mount. Steve slammed the M41 on the tripod and hooked in the lock as Jake loaded the gun. Within second they where firing. The enemy took cover and was unable to fire back.

"Bravo!" I called out.  
"Bravo team leader!" Yelled a soldier. "What do you want me to do!"  
"Take the far right and move up that basive fire!" I yelled.  
"What!" He replied not hearing me over an artillery explosion.  
"I said go up the far right and move up the line of fire!" I yelled again, trying to express the order with my hands as well.  
"Yes, sir!" He yelled. "Bravo form up!" He yelled and soon they where making there way down the extreme far right and started to move up onto the enemy position. I started walking down behind our firing line.  
"Alpha, Charlie, keep that fire on them! Don't stop shooting!" I yelled.  
About four minutes later the enemy bolted out from cover and started heading out into the open.

The middle troop came up over the hill and spotted them, the tanks opened up and chewed them all down as they tried to find new cover against the Bravos flanking attack.  
"Charlie, pack it up!" I yelled and Jake and Steve began to undo the MG.  
"Lets go, to Bravo's position, now!" I yelled. We all bolted out though the open grounds to the rocky region where Bravo waited for us.  
Bullets rang at us from the other side to our left, but we continued to bolt though until we reached Bravo.

We reached Bravo's position and took up defences among the rocks.  
"Were going to hold here until the guided artillery stops." I said over the com.  
All team leader replied and we set up our defences. Enemy armor soon rose up over the hills in the middle, ours and theirs coming to a stop as they took aim. Their tank shot, a round struck our middle tank. All three of our scorpions fired back and the enemy tank turned into a dancing fireball.

Soon after a ATV ramped off the hills by the destroyed enemy tank. I glanced at it for a second and noticed it was a kamikaze soldier, he had c4 on the front of his ATV and was heading straight for our armor. The tanks cannons where facing off in other directions at this point and couldn't stop him. He soon rammed into the middle tank and his c4 went off. Our middle tank exploded, already having been damaged by the enemy armor.

The flanking tanks a bit off to the sides went on the move. I looked out and noticed the guided artillery bombardment had started to quit and had died down greatly.

The area ahead held plenty of cover by the newly created foxholes caused by the artillery. I couldn't see the enemy structure yet, or may not, for all I knew it was in pieces. I turned on my com on my helmet, having forgotten that it was off and realized that the team commanders may of been trying to contact me though it.  
"New orders, you will follow these orders directly." I started. "Alpha, you will continue straight ahead, attack and if the structure remains standing, breach the position when possible. Charlie, take the MG and set it up on the cliff side up ahead."  
"Right where we had it before we retreated the first time?" Steve's voice asked over the radio.  
"Yes, that will do fine." I answered. "Bravo, make your way around the cliff at the bottom. Follow it around the next ben and flank the structure from the right. Move in and breach when possible. Are we all clear?"  
"Yes, sir." came the replies of everyone, not just the team leaders.

The shelling had fully stopped. Ahead the ground was covered with holes. I began to wonder how command planned to get the armor across it now. I glanced over at the tanks, the tank commander popped his head out of one of the tanks and view the land ahead. He yelled something around, but I was to far to hear what he was saying. He shut the lid of the hatch and the tanks started to move again.

"Go, go, go!" I said over the com.  
We took off. I decided to make my way up the cliff side and make my way down the other side and join Bravo. Within three minutes we made it to the top, the structure remained standing. We set up the MG on the hill overlooking its position. Lots of the holes contained parts of bodies, mainly arms and legs. Easily over a hundred pieces of people laid around, intact bodies lay dead in the surrounding areas as well.

Jeeps sat on fire as well as tanks and filled the air with smoke. A enemy Pelican even sat destroyed on the ground. I guess they didn't expect we had artillery in the vicinity. Enemy infantry fired at us from the foxholes below and at other teams moving around. They still had enough troops to circle their bases and fill the foxholes with people to defend themselves, infantry as began to poor out of the structure. Steve opened up on nearby targets with his MG and began to shread the nearest ones with it.  
"Alpha reporting contacts." The team leader announced over the com.  
"Bravo on the flank, well have them down in a few seconds."  
"Copy that Bravo." Replied Alpha.

The enemy hid behind the smoke and risen dust and made it hard to find the ones a bit further out. Some craters literally where created where two rounds dropped in the same spot and the holes where deep enough to hide the enemy from sight, even from us up on the thirty foot or so hillside. The enemy fired back from the craters.  
"Fix bayonets!" Yelled the Bravo team leader over the com.  
I glanced to my right to see the enemy break though the smoke and charging Bravos position as they took cover in the outer foxholes. Hand-to-hand combat broke out between Bravo and the Russian troops.   
"Attack!" Yelled Alpha team leader and Alpha began to charge into the smoke.

Steve started shooting in small controlled burst, trying to pick off the enemies he could see, Dave picked off troops that where in hand-to-hand combat with Bravo with his sniper. I hoped over the ledge and slid down the dirt and rocky side. I ended up on my back on the ground in the end. I got up and rushed into the smoke. A russian soldier stepped out into view and I put ten rounds in his visor. The visor busted and blood flew out, he reached up to grab what he could of his face.   
"Ýòî ïîâðåæäàåò!" He yelled.  
I slammed the butt of my gun into his gut and he bent over forward splashing blood on the ground and my foot. I finished his life with a smack with the butt of my gun to the back of his head.

A soldier bolted at me, I dodged with a spin and slammed my gun into his side as he went by and fell face first into the ground. I put a few rounds in him, he didn't get back up. I began to wonder how many there actually where. Someone grabbed me from behind in a bear hug. I dropped my gun.  
"ß ïîëó÷èë Âàñ òåïåðü!" A voice yelled.  
I was lifted up into the air and slammed to the ground on my back. The man picked up my gun and took aim on me. I raised my hand to cover my face when a sniper round shot though his visor and out the back of his helmet. He dropped to the ground dead.

I glanced back behind me, Dave was laying on the ground on the cliff side and had a smoking sniper rifle in his hands. I looked and saw Bravo break into the smoke, bayonets at the ready and attacked the few remaining Russian soldiers around. I got to my feet and retrieved my gun and entered the structures base level.

A guy jumped out from around the corner to ambush me but was put down by a spray of bullets. I soon had made my way in one said and out the other, only the one man had been inside. I exited as one of our tanks drove by. A spray of gunfire flew in by me, I stepped back into the building door for cover.

I peaked out and glanced at the back upper hills. The enemy had stopped at the top and had set up a machine gun nest with some spare infantry. They held their ground rather than continue on and retreat from the lands. I bolted out and took cover in behind the nearby tank. I peaked around and shot up at the opposition, the tank soon opened up with its machine gun fired its cannon at them, destroying their defences.

Pockets of our troops soon began charging up the hill. I watched as they ran up the hill shooting at those who continued to fight back until they took the position. We had won the fight. My team began taunting the enemy over the com so we could all hear. I walked back around to the other side where my team was.

I walked around and found Dave.  
"I owe you one." I said catching my breath a bit.  
"No, where even." He said back. "For getting us off that hill last time."  
I smiled at him though my visor and pated him on the shoulder.

I glanced around, other task teams started making their way back down the back hill and toward the rest of us. The ones around here shot the dead to make sure they weren't faking. I took my eyes away from everyone else and looked at Dave and reached into my pouch.  
"Apple?" I asked Dave as I handed the squashed thing out to him.


	10. National Losses

_June 16th, 2552, 11:02PM_

Only one man was wounded in my squad, that wasn't bad at all I thought to myself as we made our way back to our structure. Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie followed me. We made our way by a tank, it was stuck in a crater. It angled a bit in, the back left of it was suspended in the air a bit.   
"I told you it wouldn't make it!" Yelled someone.  
"Im sorry commander." Another voice replied.  
I laughed a small bit and smiled at the sight.

We came up on our structure to find a line of tables in place outside. Pots where set out among them.  
"Looks like there giving out food boys!" I yelled.  
Everyone glacned over, we where all hungery.   
"Dismissed!" I yelled.  
The others headed off a slight bit to the right toward the line of food, I conintued ahead alone. Jake glanced back and saw I wasn't coming.  
"Well catch you in a few." He yelled.

I entered the structure and made my way to the center where Ryans quarters where. I stepped in and stood there. Ryan was filling out some papers, he glanced up. "Ah, my top commander." He said with joy.  
I looked at him confused a bit. I saluted.  
"At ease." He stated and I put my hands behind my back.  
"I heared you only had one wounded man, you must of adapted your tactics to the chaning situation well" He said.  
"I pre-ordered my team commanders to move in when they saw fit, sir. They lead the attacks"   
"Team commanders?" He asked. I explained how I had organized my squad.

"See, I knew you where the man to put in charge." He said. "You organized your squad great and thought out the fights before they were fought. You also quickly reacted to enemy positions that where hiding and waiting to ambush you." He opened a drower and pulled something out, it was covered in his hands and I couldn't see what it was.  
He stood up and made his way in front of me.  
"For your valor in the face of the enemy and unbelieveable leadership with your team, I proudly promote you to Sergent." He annoucned and held out a badge and a ribbon as well.

I looked down at it and took it from his hands slowly. I had gone from Buddy team leader to Sergent in one battle. I looked up at him.  
"Thank you, sir." I said softly.  
"You earned it. Honestly, you preformed much better than I thought you would. You make a fine team leader." He replied.

The raido by his desk went off.  
"Urgent, repeat, urgent news. Ryan Smith please respond over."  
We looked over at it for a second before looking back at eachother.  
"Well you better get going, go get some food while you can." He said.  
He saluted me, and I returned the favor. He made his way back to his desk and sat down.   
"This is Lieutenant Ryan." He replied over the radio as I made my way out.

I made my way out of the structure and out into the dirt ground, the sound of dirt clumps being crushed under my feet, it sounded like the snap of gunfire to me a bit. I found the others pretty easily. The entire squad was sitting together eatting. I made my way over to them.   
"There he is." A soldier sitting on his helmet said. "Our unstoppable commander." The squad let out a hoot. I smiled. "We showed them didn't we..." The soldier paused for a split second and glanced at my hand. "Sergent. You dog you." He finished.

Steve glanced over at me.  
"You made sergent?" He asked curiously. I nodded in reply and showed him the badge.  
"Don't forget to give that into command when we get back to Containment so they can airbrush the tag onto your armor." Said Dave.  
"I won't." I replied.  
"Did you all see the way Thomas acted out on the field?" Another soldier said.  
"Hell yeah, lead us to victory and we didn't even lose a man." Said yet another. The squad let out a hoot again as they ate.

I took my helmet off and sat down on it with them.  
"Wait until next time too, he was just waming up this round." I laughed a bit.  
"Yeah." I said. "But don't forget, a commander can't be good if he dosen't have good troops." They let yet chuckled a bit and agreed with what I said.

When they where done eating we did a 'yo mama' joke contest to pass the time. Who ever could tell the best joke would win. We sat back and laughed hard at the funny ones, as well as the stupid funny ones. We declared Jake as the winner. We moved on to other topics to talk and joke about.

After about a hour of messing around we stopped when a Pelican flew in and landed by the base structure. We all looked over and watched to see what was happening. A person came out the back with a steel briefcase. We looked at him strangely. He was a troop from the Brazilan Division.   
"What are they doing out here?" Someone asked out. "I thought Brazil was defending the industrail areas off to the north." He added.  
We turned away and began to talk again. I could hear the Pelican taking off soon after.

The troops began to talk on about something but I was looking over my patch that I held in my hands, amazed that Ryan had put so much trust into me. I focused out everything around me and stared at it and thought it over. I was soon brought back to reality when a soldier set his red helmet down beside me and sat down. "Well, how have you been, Sergent?" Asked Andy.

_June 17th, 2552, 1:17 AM_

The troop remained silent as Andy continued.  
"The Chinese invaded Brazil and took the capital within a few hours. The somehow figured out that the entire Brazilan Division was here in Antarctica and that their capitol was near defenceless... Brazil is considered out of the war as of now but their military is launching a counter attack in a day or two." He stopped.  
"This means the Chinese have armies in Brazil now." Said a soldier.  
"They can hit us from the north or make an assault on Mexico, putting them out of the war and giving them a direct shot at America." Said another.   
"Thats probally what they will do." Andy said. "They will take Mexico while the nation is also near defenceless against the Chinese strength. They will be slowed at America, I hear the 27th Mechinized Infantry troop is moving in on the border to protect America, and that other troops are being sent in as well."

I glacned at the ground, our time of fun was over. What was our next phase of action. Would we retreat around though the sea to defend Mexico or stay here and keep them from taking Antarctica. It was one of the other. Either we lose Antarctica or we lose Mexico and risk a invasion into America. I looked around the troop.  
"What are you thinking, sir?" Asked a soldier.  
I layed out our possible actions we may take. We thought them over as to what we may do.

Orders soon came down from General Flood. We where all leaving the line of defence here and to heading back to the fort. We collected all of our gear and other things. Pelicans came in and landed everywhere, there was about six hundred of us here and only thirty or so pelicans, there was not enough. A convoy was established and would be used to help move the rest. It looked like a few would ride on the tanks while the others walked with them back to the fort until more Pelicans came avaialbe to pick them up.

We made our way to a nearby dropship and the troops piled on. I looked around one last time as people got organized and equipment was loaded up on the tanks and stuff. I looked up at a high chunk of land that stood out of the hillside. I saw movement and noticed a German scout watching everything from cover. He feed back into cover when he noticed me looking at him.

"What are you looking at?" Asked Steve as he looked up at where I was looking.  
I took my glance from the man or women and looked at Steve.  
"No." I said and mounted up on the dropship.   
Ryan quickly got on as well and made his way into the cockpit. Within seconds the air convoy was taking off and headed for Fort Containment.

_June 16th, 2552, 2:10AM_

We decended down for landing. I could hear the chaos around the camp already.   
"Touchdown." The piolt yelled and we piled out.  
I dashed out and onto the ground. I looked around and threw my head side to side to pop my neck that had become stiff.  
"Si eres un miembro del Mechinized mexicano. Cargar por favor para arriba en los Pelicans que se enviarán a México." A female voice said over the camp speakers.

"China está avanzando en Mexcio. Todo el Mechinized mexicano marcha por favor carga para arriba en los Pelicans que se enviarán para defender México."  
I looked around. To my left a wave of roughly three to four-hundred Mexican Mechanized soldiers where making there way to the Pelicans. We stepped out of the way to give room for them to bored up on our Pelicans that had just dropped us off. Once a Pelican was loaded up it instantly took off into the night sky.

_'Night sky?'_ I thought to myself.  
It was supposed to still be daylight in Antarctica. Huge lights where up all along the fort line and out in the open around us.  
"Why is it dark?" Someone asked.   
"Shit if I know. Something must be wrong." Another man replied.  
I still focused looking in the air. A C709 Stealth Fighter flashed overhead though the night. We all took a step back from the wind it caused on the ground, it had come by extremely low and extremely fast, we didn't even hear it until it was above us.

The Pelicans began to take off. Only two remained on the ground soon after. A bit later one of the Pelicans took off leaving on the ground two squads of Mexican Mechinized, there wasn't enough room for all of them.   
"¡Ir! ¡Haré mi manera con los americanos más adelante hoy! ¡Ir!" One Mexican CO said to the other.  
They saluted and the one team got on and was soon gone. The other team made its way back to the fort. We followed them.

We soon entered the fort, it was a mess.  
"Soldiers of the American Armed Forces." The speakers started up again. "Please pack your belongings and see fit to move out in a few hours."  
Ryan was at point and I was behind him, everyone in our squad followed me from behind. The speakers clicked on again.  
"If you are running low on ammunation, please replish your supplise at any of the nearby ammo supply dumps."

"Whats going on?" Ryan asked as a guard walked by.  
"Where moving out, that's all I know?" He said back as he continued to walk on.  
"Fall out still remains to the south-west, radation will not reach this position." The speakers started up again. "If you do not have radational air filters, they can be aquired at any of the supply dumps." Ryan stood there.  
"Someone used a fucking nuke!" He yelled and threw a punch into his left hand, he had caught on.  
He began to make his way into the quarters, he was walking extremely fast as though he may suddenly take off running. We followed him.

"Supply up!" He yelled as we walked by a supply dump that layed on the ground.  
We looked around at eachother.  
"Someone nuked us?" A soldier said extemely tence.  
"How far is this war going to go?" Jake asked.  
"You think well all kill eachother?" Steve asked after him.  
This continued a bit as we re-supplyed. Everyone was just throwing questions out instead of answering, kind of answering a question with a question. Questions where all we had to reply with, we had no answers.

I picked up a MA5B and seven additional magazines for my gun along with three additional magazines for my sidearm and put them in my belt. I aquired four Frag Gernades and took a Nuclear Gernade and attached them to my belt. I looked back down at the box and picked up two more nuclear gernades and attached them on as well. My belt was now over filled and I put extra Frags into food pouchs along with extra ammo. Everyone else was overloading themselfs as well. I had roughly eight-hundred rounds for my gun, five frags, and three nuclear gernades. I carried little food.

Ryan made his way back with a M19 SSM Rocket Launcher.  
"Has anyone ever fired one of these?" He asked out to us.  
Only one person in our squad had ever held one. He went though what is was mainly used for and how to use it along with reloading it.  
"Get rid of your supply belt." He ordered to the soldier who had at least held one before.  
The soldier unstrapped his ammo and gun holster belt and let it drop to the ground.

Ryan handed him the Rocket Launcher. The soldier held it and looked over it. Ryan picked up a weird type of ammo holster and put it on the soldier like a backpack. The 'backpack' had a big hole in the side of it and the top was open. The 'backpack' it self was metal. Ryan went back over and picked up a pair of rockets. Rockets for the M19 came in pairs, they where locked together. When the trigger was pulled, one would shoot out of one of the barrels on the launcher, when the person pulled again, another would shoot and then he would have to reload. That was the big knowlege I had on the gun and how it worked.

Ryan slid down the pair of rockets into the metal pack and they slid to the hole in the side. I looked at it and got it. When the person had to reload, he could reach around and pull out the ammo easily from the pack from the hole where it sat. Ryan put in another pair of rockets and patted the soldier on his shoulder.  
"You'll get the hang of it." He said to him.

"Squad Sapper!" Ryan yelled and a man in red armor stepped forth.  
Ryan went over to the ammo dump and came back with a M7057 Flame Thrower.   
"Have you used this before?" Ryan asked.  
"Yes sir, I know how to use it." The sapper replied.  
"Good." Ryan said and handed the Flame Thrower with a painted... I took as a sharks faces or something, on it.

"Did everyone aquire additional ammo?" He asked aloud.  
"Yes, sir." W replied.  
"Alright then. I found out what's going on and I think I should tell you." He started.  
We watched him with much interest of finding out.  
"It's not night here, as you all know. That's dust you see in the sky."   
We all glanced up into the sky.  
'_To think that is all dust' _I though to myself and then looked back at Ryan.  
"That dust was thrown into the air from a low class nuclear bomb." He started again. "The Chinese for some reason nuked the middle of nowhere out to the south-east. We haven't nuked them back yet seeing as they didn't hit any civil or military areas. The Chinese themselves have their armed forces about an hour away from Mexico and advancing ever closer. They will most likely put Mexico out of the war. Any questions?" He finished.

I spoke up.  
"Yeah. What are we going to do about it?" I asked.   
"Well, from what I heard. We will be launched to Brazil and from there and on foot, walk nearly all the way to America."  
Everyone began talking to the person next to them. I got loud fast with everyone talking.  
"Why!" I asked out even louder, trying to be louder than everyone else.  
They all stopped talking and listened for the answer.  
"Why not just fly to America along the ocean?" I finished.  
Ryan looked deep into my visor.  
"We are moving on foot so we can re-take major areas and reclaim their capitol. Same as Mexico. If we do this and they attack America, then we can also make a strike from behind." He answered.  
I nodded to him with understanding.

"We launch in five hours." Ryan announced. "You all go get some sleep while you can. Dissmissed!" He said and saluted.  
We stood up and saluted him back and made our way to the sleeping quarters.

There where no guards there this time. Instead a sign was above the door saying 'sleep when you please'. We walked in. I found to my supprise that the normal empty room was now filled with beds. There where easily enough for all of us that had returned, combing the two sleeping rooms.

My squad stayed together while other squads we had returned with sat where ever. The general was making this special on his troops sence it was the last night we would be here. We all fell asleep, dreaming of battles we had already fought and of fights soon to come as the war slowing turned into nuclear warfare


	11. Snake Wires

_June 17th, 2552, 5:00 AM_

It was somewhat nice to wake up at five in the mourning to a night like sky, it felt normal. We all stood out in the open, right where me and my team had first dropped in at only a few days back, and already we where leaving. Two-thousand of us stood there waiting to be airlifted away. The Pelicans came into sight, there was easily over a hundred of them. Albatross dropships even came into sight.

Albatross dropships had huge squarish troop bays that could fit large amounts of troops or a few vehicles. The Albatros landed first and the Pelicans continued on overhead. Tanks, transport jeeps, and hogs where then loaded up in them. Within five minutes we had loaded up twenty tanks and around a total of thirty jeeps. The Albatross took off and the Pelicans came back into sight and landed just ahead all over the camp. Some continued to fly around and wait for more clearing to open up.

We had already been issued to dropships by their call signs that where pained on by the rear thrusters. We found ours, 214. This would be our dropship for the rest of the war. Ryan, me, and my team quickly mounted up.   
"Punch it!" Ryan yelled.  
For the first time ever, the back doors to the pelican shut and kept us from looking out the back. It was dark inside the dropship except for dim red lights that ran along the sides above our heads.

I felt the dropship lift off the ground and take off. I gazed around to find many soldiers slouching out and starting to go back to sleep. We had only slept for about three hours of so. I also found myself falling asleep. A few hours I suddenly awoke and jumped to my feet.

"Ah shit!" I yelled and reached down to grab the back of my leg.   
Everyone else suddenly awoke and looked at me confused.  
"What happening?" Dave asked me loudly.  
Ryan came in from the cockpit. "What's going on?" He asked as I hopped around and stretching out my right leg.  
"Nasty cramp!" I said in pain.  
I tried to get my leg straight, but it felt like my leg would snap in the back if I did. After a few minutes the cramp was gone and I sat back down, keeping my right leg straight.

"Fuck." I said to myself quietly.  
Everyone stayed awake after that.   
"Shit man. I thought AA fire had cut though and hit you or something." Dave said as he removed his helmet to rub the crust that developed in his eyes while he had been asleep.

I came to learn we where only about ten minutes from the LZ anyway, what better way to get the blood running though me then to have a massive cramp in your leg while asleep I thought. About fifteen minutes later we started to descend. I loaded and locked my gun. The dropship shook as it made contact with the ground and the door started to open. I half expected to have bullets start flying into the back of the Pelican but it was calm and quiet. We stepped out and set up the defensive circle around the Pelican.

The Pelican took off. I looked around. I could hear the chirp of animals and whatever else, we where in what seemed to be a jungle. Ryan pulled out a map. Pelicans began to land in the nearby areas, some continued on ahead.   
"Well, we've been given the duty of walking to our rally point, about a mile that way." And pointed off to my left. "We are to check the woods as we go along for any supply dumps that are believed to be left in the area and destroy them." He finished as he rolled up the map and put it into his belt.

I stood up and formed in behind him. Jake, Steve, and Dave followed me, everyone else remained there. I looked over at them.  
"You heard the man!" I yelled. "Lets move!"  
They all got up and fell into formation. In one long line we made our way off in the direction to the rally point.

The ground was super soft and I almost sunk into it a few times in a few areas as I walked. We glanced out in every direction of the jungle, I think we all half expected to get ambushed by the Chinese or some crazy, wild animal, but we continued on and nothing happened. After about thirty minutes of walking we made out the rally point ahead. Pelicans sat on the ground being re-supplied. We stopped on a hill overlooking the rally point and glanced around. Way out in the distance we could see mountains and nothing but trees along the way to them. I looked a bit further down and saw the rally point. It was a small village of light wooden huts that stood over a huge patch of dirt.

We walked down the hill for the rally point. We came up on a trench line and I stopped for a second and glanced up the hill. I noticed it had once been a defensive position used by armed troops from Brazil, I continued on down. They must of had supply lines in the woods back there when the fighting broke out I thought to myself.

We hopped the trench and continued on though blood covered flowers. I looked down at the flowers. There where spots where flowers where crushed in shapes while others stood perfectly. I glanced at the shapes and as we walked by and I noticed the bent flowers made the shape of people. I could make out the stretches of arms and legs along with where their heads had been at. It was also the most blood painted area.

I was still looking down at the ground ahead and saw something shinny moving among the flowers on the ground. I focused my attention on it and made out what looked like a thin wire.  
"Freeze!" I yelled, but it was to late.  
A guy ahead of me let out a scream and dropped to the ground, a wire shot by around his foot and flew back into the grass. It was a booby trap, a snake wire.

I looked at the man. He laid screaming in pain. I looked down his body and saw that both his feet where no longer attached to his body. Snake wires where in the area, they must of been put there to help hold off the enemy attack that had come up the hill. They where still here.  
"What do we do! What happened?" Someone yelled in panic.  
I began to take off my armor as fast as I could.

I removed my armor from the waste down and approached the soldier. I dragged him back away from the wire, it slithered toward him a bit but I got him away quick enough. I got him to safety and the squad medic made his way up and began to treat the man. Another squad started to come down the hill behind us.  
"Traps!" I yelled and they came to a stop. "Snake wires!" I finished.

"What the fuck is a snake wire?" The soldier yelled again.  
I answered as I looked around for it.  
"A snake wire is a magnetized piece of wire. When a source of metal come near it, it will start to more toward it. When in range it lashes out and and spins around to cut though the metal, given if the plating isn't to strong. They can cut clean though ours." I told him.

"Jesus fucking christ!" He finished and started looking around for snake wires.  
I found the one that had taken the soldiers feet and walked up it slowly. It began to slither to me a bit, it was being magnetized to my upper armor a bit. I stepped back and removed my helmet and the rest of my armor. When I was finished I slowly went up to the wire. I carefully scooped my hand under it and picked it up, careful not to clasp it to tight and cut my hand open. My heart began to race as I held it. If it jumped for a source of metal, I knew I would lose my hand. I carefully made my way to the trench line and hopped in and began to make my way down it a bit. I tossed the thing to the ground and put a rock on top of it.

I let out a sigh of relief and looked back at my team. Others had removed the lower sections of their armor and where looking around for more snake wires as they made there way down the hill. I ran over to the man who was the victim to the wire. I kneeled down beside him. His helmet was removed and his left ankle was bandaged up but his right was exposed, he was shaking a bit.  
"I can't get a bandage to stay on with his bone poking out like that." The corpsmen said. "I need to cover and stop the bleeding now, no time to get him to the rally point." He finished.  
The corpsmen looked at me.  
"Give me your bayonet." He ordered.  
My eyes became wide.  
"Surely your not..." I started.  
"I have to, or he will die soon, please your bayonet." He interrupted.

The soldier looked up at us in great fear, he knew what was about to happen. I pulled my bayonet from my belt and handed it to the medic and turned away.  
"I have nothing that can kill the pain. This is going to hurt a lot." The corpsmen said honestly. "You will pass out from the pain though. It will only hurt for a minute."  
The solider began to cry a bit harder and shake more and grabbed at the flowers by him.

The soldier began to scream at the top of his lungs. I looked over and the soldier had sat up some. He mouth was open extremely wide and his eyes where wide, the medic was sawing away at the bone stump with the bayonet. Soon nothing was coming out of the soldiers mouth but it remained wide open. He fell back down to the ground, out cold from the pain.  
"There." The medic said and tossed a piece of bone about three inches long to the side and began to wrap up the soldiers ankle.  
I looked at the mans leg. Strangely the wire hadn't hacked all the way though the mans bone. The spin just took off all the flesh that was attached to it.

The other team approached us. Their team medic came down and assisted in the wrapping of the soldiers legs.  
"What happened?" Asked their team commander to me in disbelief. I looked at him.  
"Snake wires." He glanced around and then down the hill at our team.   
They where at the bottom. About five men started back to our position. I stood there in my boxers and looked at the wounded man and then made my way back for my armor.

I looked around for any possible snake wires that may have made their way to my suit while I was away. It seemed clear and I began to put it back on. I heard the sound of dirt being kicked around then the sound of a engine. I looked off to my left and saw a transport hog making it way up the hill to us. It drove past me and came to a stop where the wounded man was. He was loaded up on the vehicle and our team medic got on with him and the vehicle did a one-eighty and began making its way back down the hill.

I finished putting on my armor and began to head down the hill myself with the others that had come up. I came down to the rally point. Ryan was talking to a group of CO's. They saluted him and he saluted back. They broke off and Ryan made his way to us.  
"Well make sure that doesn't happen to the next squad that comes down that hill." He said angrily as he came up to me. "The next team will have to make a detour around where the combat zone was." He added.

Jake, Steve and Dave came up to me.  
"What the fuck happened?" Asked Steve. I explained about snake wires again to them.  
"There we go." Said Ryan and nodded off to behind me.  
I turned and looked out at the hill with the others. A large team of sappers where getting out of some transport hogs and started walking though the grass, flaming the entire area with flame throwers. Fire destroyed the magnetized lock on snake wires. I could see little line of fire shooting out though the air. Snake wire where jumping out for the armor the sappers wore but the fire threw the lock of their target off and missed. Soon, all the flowers that where painted with blood where painted black with smoke and fire.

"A shame. We had hopped a team from the Brazil division would still be holding here." Ryan started. "Looks like the Chinese took the hill, even with snake wires all over the place." He finished as he watched the sappers.  
"What's our next course of action?" I asked.  
"Well, I believe where air lifting off to the Brazilian capital next." He answered.  
We stood there silent.   
"Well launch out when the last team arrives." He added and went quiet himself.

I looked back at the once grassy fortified hill that had been covered with flowers. I spotted the last two teams together. They detoured off around the fire and began to make their way to our position. I leaned my gun up against my shoulder, Steve coughed a bit and began to knock against his chest plating. I looked over at him. "Heart burn." He said.  
I looked away from him and back at the flaming hill.


	12. Broadcaster FUBAR

_June 20th, 2552, 9:57PM_

It felt good to get out of the jungles of Brazil. My feet hurt bad and my legs didn't feel any better. We had walked from the rally point which was at the bottom tip of Brazil and made our way half way up the nation on foot, rather than airlifting like Ryan had said. We had gone though dense jungles, crossed rivers, and went though more jungle areas. The worst was a swampish area. The ground was slimy looking and filled with mud, plus we had to lead a convoy though it. Vehicles kept getting stuck in the mud and it had rained hard on us that day too, it was like trying to pull a car against a continuous backwash, but we somehow managed.

I had made out a strange light out in the distance when we crossed the swamped lands. I looked at it is as we had gone by and made out a strange structure with a gargoyle on it. It seemed to be the only structure in the area and I thought it was pretty strange that it would be a only building in that kind of area. I didn't say or think much of it and had ignored it. I don't know if anyone else had noticed it or not.

We took back the capital shortly after leaving the swampland, there was no resistance at all. We simply rolled into the city streets on tanks and jeeps and re-claimed it. The civilian population was near gone, we believe the civilians formed a coordinated militia and tried to stop the advance and had been slaughtered. We believed this cause we found small groups of civilians laying dead along the side of the roads with weapons by them as we made our way in.

I was now on a Pelican in flight over Mexico. We had been told that about four hours ago the Chinese had taken Mexico City and where almost at the American border. The air convoy was going to land just outside of Mexico City and launch an offensive to take it back, except for members of the 7th Mechanized Infantry and 15 Airborne, us. We where going to continue on to hit the enemy from the rear as they attacked our troops of the 23rd Infantry and pockets of troops from the Canadian Division at the border of Texas along the newly formed militarized city of Turf. That's where we held our main defenses was along Turf, we believed that's where the enemy was to attack.

I glanced among the others. Some where sleeping, other talked, and two people played cards as best they could. I watched as they played a game of simple goldfish. I leaned out and looked into the cockpit and found both pilots asleep. They must of had it on a preset AI flight, but Ryan sat there by the pilots and made sure we wouldn't fly into something. I took my helmet off and put it out into the middle of the floor in front of me and slouched into my seat and put my feet on top of my helmet. I closed my eyes and went into deep thought.

I thought about how far the war would go. Would it end all of mankind? China had already used a nuclear weapon, though it was believed it didn't kill anybody. Nonetheless, they still had used one and I wondered if it would soon just break out into a small nuclear warfare. Sure the nations of the world only had five nukes each, but it was good enough to cause massive destruction.

I thought about the upcoming invasion of American, my homeland and how our allies where beginning to fall to the sudden and rapid Chinese attacks. Would we be next? Would America somehow fall to the oncoming Chinese attack? I seriously doubted a nation our size would fall to a army of a few million, but anything was possible. I wondered how big the border defense would be and if they could hold off the attack long enough for us and other troop tasks forces to arrive and help to repel the invasion.

I knew we couldn't simply send our entire military down there, then the enemy would be able to invade on a different front. This put us in a bad spot. I thought about the 23rd infantry troop. It was a fairly well trained army with someone good numbers, about six-hundred thousand or so. How many troops where arriving from Canada to help repel the attack I questioned as I laid there.

What if they didn't come? The 23rd would easily fall do to the numbers of the Chinese attack and America would be fully invaded. I continued to think about what would happen if we didn't arrive in time to help.

My thoughts began to change into odd images and half of my mind lost track of reality, the other half told me I was half asleep. I let my other half go and I was soon fully asleep.

I was asleep for probably two hours or so.  
"Everyone get up!" A voice yelled out.  
It didn't fully wake me. I was still asleep but could sense what was happening around me. I could feel the presence of someone walking up to me and I suddenly awoke and turned to meet the person. It was Ryan. I sat back up straight in my seat and stretched out with everyone else, we had all been asleep, we had all grown tired from all the walking we had done.

I reached out and picked up my helmet and snapped it back into place on my armor. Ryan walked back off into the cockpit and started talking to the pilots, they where now awake too. A voice played over the dropships inner speaker.  
"It has been confirmed that the attack on American soil is from the Chinese. Currently, armed forces of the American and Canadian Divisions are in combat around the city of Turf in Texas against the invaders. Evacuations where not finished when the attack began and evacuations of the surrounding states have been issued."

Ryan stepped out.  
"Its the WWMF national front radio station in America." He said.  
"We have new reporters on the front now as we go to them... Tom, are you with us?" Asked the radio man.  
"Yes I am." A shaky voice replied, gunfire could be heard in the background.

"Tom, can you tell us what's going on?" Asked the radio man.  
"Well, about a hour ago, the armed forces of both The Republic and Peoples Republic of China invaded all along the city line. The entire 23rd American infantry stood ready in fortified positions out in front of the city. The enemy has not yet breached though the fortified bunkered lines where I stand. I have also been told that members of the Canadian armed forces are here as well. I don't know if you have or have not been informed of that yet. There is also a extremely small group of troops from the British military as well. That is all I know at the moment."

"That was our new reporter Tom Blood that you just heard down at the front. May h--s ." The radio began to break out into static and remained there for awhile.  
We left it on to see if we ever catch the signal again.  
"How far are we?" Someone asked Ryan.  
"About forty minutes away from our LZ.  
"Where's that?" He asked again.  
"Just short of the enemy lines... Where going in as close as a mile on this one." Ryan finished.

" J-ut -ecieved that a unknown force has ---- into sight over the eastern shores of America." The broad caster said as the signal returned. "Again, we have just received reports that an unknown aerial force has suddenly appeared over the eastern shores of America. The force is making it way in the direction of Turf."   
We sat there greatly confused. Ryan made his way into the cockpit and got on the radio and made contact with command.

He gave out the needed information and got though.  
"Command we just got word that a unknown air team has been sighted over the eastern shores of America, can you confirm and give intel?" Ryan asked over the radio.  
We couldn't hear the broadcaster while the main radio was in used, it blocked it out. Ryan was on there for a few minutes. He put up the radio when he was done and made his way to the back with us, the radioman voice returned over the speakers.

"Tom." The broadcaster said when the main radio was put up. "We have reports that the Chinese have broken though the left part of the lines and entered the city. The enemy has been sighted moving in on the terminal district where yet many people are waiting for the next bullet train to be evacuated. Members of the..." The reporter suddenly stopped talking and explosions took over the radio.  
Static soon was the only thing that came over the speakers.

The static went off. "That... was.. our reporter... Tom Blood at the front... May he rest in peace. He will be greatly missed." The broad caster said.  
There was some commotion going on between the broadcaster and another man. The signal was soon shut off from the source. We sat there in disbelief of what had just happened.

The signal soon came back on.  
"My name is Nathan Jones and I am replacing Been Davison as broadcaster for the meantime. We go life to our affiliate who is at the Mississippi Naval Bay where naval ships are being prepared to be sent off. Jonna?" The broadcaster finished.   
"Yes Nathan. I am here at the Mississippi Naval Base where a small fleet is being prepared to be sent off to bombard enemy positions that are still held up in Mexico. We have been told that a few minutes ago, armed forces from Antarctica launched a counter attack on Mexico City where they have been meet with stiff resistance."

We now knew that the troops where on the offensive for Mexico and that the enemy was still there.  
"We also saw a large convoy of members of the WWMF American National Guard inbound to Texas pass by about thirty minutes ago." She added and finished.  
"Has.. Has the person in command given in reasons for such a slow response to the attack or anything? Or the outcome of this fight and as to such as a national evacuation from the country?" The broadcaster asked.   
"We have not asked him about that Nathan." She answered. "Alright and thank you Jonna."

"We now go live to another affiliate who is inside the city of Turf. Lets see if we can get though to him... Rick? Are you there?" There was a pause for a moment and a voice replied.  
"Yes Nathan I'm here."  
"Rick, what can you tell us what's happening down there?" Nathan asked.

"Five minutes!" Yelled the pilot during the pause on the radio.  
"Well Nathan. We where forced to evacuate out of the city when enemy artillery started to bomb the forward lines. We where at the allied command located in the rear of the city. We are currently just north of the city... Uh, we know that the enemy has overrun the forward line and are now in the city. The allies have retreated on almost all fronts of the city, we believe half of the city is under their control."  
"Now what about numbers. Do you know if many soldiers remain on both fronts?" Nathan asked.  
"Eh... I asked about numbers to the allied commander before the enemy bombardment. He said it was believed that the enemy had about two or three million men in strength. He refused to tell us how many where on the allies side but we know by research that the twenty-third infantry consists of a good four-hundred-thousand or so men."

I listened on a bit longer than froze. I started to sweat a lot and my heart began to race, I started to notice something and listened on.

"We where told that reinforcements where on the way from Mexico as we speak, consisting of members of the seventh infantry and fifth-tenth airborne. They are to arrive soon if they haven't arrived already as well."

My head turned slowly to Ryan. He was standing completely still. He turned and looked into the cockpit.  
"Ryan!" I shouted out to him.  
"Alert the others for a detour now! Find a new landing zone!" He yelled to the pilots. "They know where coming from the south!" I locked and loaded my gun.  
"How do they know where coming!" One of the pilots asked back.  
"Just do it!" Ryan replied.

I knew how they would know. It was a public broadcasting network, meaning our military radios shouldn't be able to pick them up. If ours where than so where the enemies, they where probably listening in on everything. They now knew who and where reinforcements where coming from, how strong the resistance of the 23rd was, and where the command post was located, everything.

"Abort LZ, abort LZ, detour to the east. Enemy knows where coming." One of our pilots said over the radio and Nathans voice disappeared.  
Our dropship suddenly cut right and I was thrown against the wall more. We made such a sharp turn that the others across form us fell out of their seats and landed on us. I heard an explosion outside. The dropship straightened itself out.

A soldier lay in my lap. He got up and stumbled back to his seat, others that fell out made their way back to their seats. Another explosion filled the air outside.  
"We got stick in the wind!" The pilot yelled, meaning we had enemy anti-air fire on us.  
There was a loud noise, almost like someone hit a gong. The dropship kicked to the right a bit.  
"We're hit!" The pilot yelled.

I grabbed my rifle tight and we prepared ourself for a crash landing. Time went by and we remained in the air, we loosened up a bit. We started to sway to the right, AA fire still chasing us.  
"We got ourself a new LZ!" The pilot yelled. "Its going to be hot!"  
The dropship started to descend and the back door ramp started to open. We stopped descending and continued on.

I made out a street and cars on the side of the road as it opened, even in the night sky. We had entered the city from the flanking side. Soon we passed over a tank and infantry. The infantry fired at us but we quickly left them behind. The dropships nose pulled upward and we started to come to a stop. The dropship began to descend a small bit again. The Pelican made a right turn and a building came into sight. We where navigating though the city buildings.

We came to a stop in the air.  
"Alright, where going to land here!" The pilot yelled.  
We started to go down to land. I prepared to get ready to dash out the back with the others.  
"Armor!" The copilot yelled. "Move!" He yelled afterward, but it was to late.  
There was an explosion and the dropship barrel rolled to the left in the air. We crash landed thirty feet down on top of a car, crushing it to the height of my ankle.

I flipped around inside the back of the dropship with the others. We bounced off the car and rolled about twenty feet along the sidewalk, taking out small trees that where there before the dropship came to a rest. I could hear voices yelling out in the distance, in a language I didn't understand. I was still alive. I looked around but couldn't see anything though the smoke.

"Dave...Steve...Jake...Anyone?" I called out in the dark as I moved feeling around with my right arm.   
Blood filled my visor some and I had a hard time seeing out. My chest felt like it had been dented in and my heart hurt every time it betted. My legs surprisingly felt fine. I heard coughing and others moving around.  
"Is everyone alright!" I heard Ryan call out.  
"I'm okay, I think." I called back. Others began to answer too.

I could hear another Pelican come in near by. A series of snaps tore though the air as it fired it's AV Missile Pods at the tank, destroying it. I could hear it's machine gun firing for a minute before it quit. The pilots soon dropped off their load of men and took off. They dashed down toward our position. When they arrived they began to help us out and get everyone organized. I felt a hand pull me up straighter and my arm being forced around someone's neck. We made our way over a broken fence and into someone yard where I was laid up against the wall of the building.

Gunfire filled the air and rained down upon us suddenly. The enemy was now in a building on the opposite side of the street. Troops from our side began to fire back from the wreckage of the dropship. I got to my feet and headed back for the wreckage. Men took cover behind chunks of the dropship and where firing back at the enemy held up in a large building across the way.

I looked around for my team. A bullet flew though the smoke and hit the ground by me, I didn't even flinch, I was to focused on finding my team to care about it.  
"M19, scatter!" Someone behind yelled, everyone began to bolt from cover. A exploded went off by me a second later throwing metal though the air around me. I covered my head with my hands. I soon found a soldier laying dead on the ground and I walked over to him. I rolled him to his side so I could see his insingina better... It was Jake.

I grabbed him and pulled him up to me.  
"Jake!" I yelled crying.  
I started shaking him, hoping it would start his heart up and be alive again, but I knew better. I was pulled away from him by another man.   
"Let go!" I yelled and made my way free.  
"We got to go, now. Where all moving out!" The voice yelled, I recognized it as Ryan's.  
"No! One sec!" I yelled and grabbed Jake's body and threw him up over my shoulder.

Together we made our way into the nearby house with the others. We kicked open the back door and made our way into the back yard and into a alley. We all quickly made our way down it. Houses where to our left and a wooden fence to our right. I ran with the others, Jake's dead body hanging over my shoulder. We didn't know where we where, or where we were going, we just ran for our lives at this point.

I and many others didn't have any weapons to use. We did all we could do, run. We stopped at the sight of the enemy walking across the alley way down at the alley end. We decided to scale the fence and make our way though the cover of buildings and trees that where on the other side. People began to scale the fence as I laid Jake against the fence wall.  
"This is where we must depart." I said to him. I didn't want to have to leave Jake but I knew he would slow me down and I wanted to make sure I got revenge for him. "Until we meet again." I finished and saluted his dead body and scaled the fence, leaving him on the other side.

My heart hurt from his loss and having to leave his body behind, rather than the crash. . Chinese voices yelled out though the night everywhere as we quietly made our way though the back yards. We had all become trapped behind enemy lines.


	13. Window Shopping Payoff

_June 20th, 2552, 11:31PM_

We stopped inside of someone's house a few streets down from where we had wrecked at so we could treat the wounded. The house was near empty, the people that where living here had packed most of everything they had or could take and left. No way they left by train then if they hoped to talk all the stuff they possibly had. All that was left was paper, it filled the ground everywhere. The fridge remained, it was empty though and we used it to cool water to make some ice.

I picked up a piece of paper. It was a drawing of a person, the colors sagging out of the lines here and there. In the bottom right it said 'Amy, preschool drawing assignment, A+'. I smiled at it and sat it down on the floor. I walked into the kitchen and found a piece of paper towel laying on the cabinet under some more papers. I picked it up and wet it with water from the sink. I took off my helmet and began to clean the blood off my visor with it. It got most off but left small smears on it, but it was easier to see though when I put it on.

I sat up on the cabinet on top of the paper. I tried to think of what happened and what we could do. Someone made there way to me, it was Steve.  
"Have you seen Dave or Jake?" He asked.  
I looked at him though his visor.  
"Yeah, i've seen Jake anyway." I replied.  
Steve looked off among the others.  
"Well, at least we know he's good. If we..." Steve started up, I interrupted.  
"He's dead." I looked down a bit to the floor and Steve looked over at me.  
"Jake... Jakes dead?" He asked shocked. I nodded back.

Steve walked up to the wall and punched it, his fist when though. He pulled his hand out and walked off. He returned with a BR55 in his hands and made for the back door.  
"I'm going to kill them!" He said loudly and mad.  
He kicked open the kitchen door and walked out into the yard and around the house heading out into the front yard. Everyone glanced our way. Ryan jogged up and went after him, I hopped off and followed Ryan.

"Stop soldier." Ryan said as he made his way to him.  
Steve continued on and out into the street.  
"Come back, before you give us away Steve." Ryan said again, Steve continued on and fully crossed the street.  
Ryan sprinted off at him and speared him to the ground. The two broke out into fighting in the grass. I ran up and tried to stop it before the enemy heard them grunting as they fought. I was pushed to the side by Steve, who was powered by anger.

Ryan grabbed hold of Steve and pinned him to the ground, holding him down on top of him. Steve managed to roll over and put Ryan to the ground. Steve put his hands around Ryans neck and began to choke him. I looked at the gun that lay in the grass by the sidewalk and ran over and picked it up. I dashed at Steve screaming, bashing the weapon into the side of his head as hard as I could.

Steve flopped over to his side on the ground and laid still. Ryan made his way to his feet and began to catch his breath.  
"Thank you." He said to me.  
Other soldiers began to make their way to us. Steve still laid there, I began to wonder if I had killed him. I dropped the gun into the grass. Ryan stepped over and sat down on the sidewalk as I slowly made my way to Steve who continued to lay there.

A medic came in by him before I got to him and checked his pulse.  
"He fine." The medic said. "He's just unconscious."  
Ryan got up to his feet.  
"Alright, lets get him back inside before the Chinese see us." Ryan said.  
I glanced around. I couldn't see any sign of the enemy but could hear the rumble of fighting going on in the distance. I began to wonder how the others did when we all came in. I hoped they where doing better than us. I jogged off to catch up to Ryan and the others.

We entered the house and put Steve with the other wounded. I sat back along a wall across from him in what I took had been the living room or the dining room. I was shaken about what I had just done to my best friend, but I had not no choice, he was going to kill Ryan if I hadn't. Ryan made his way to me and sat down beside me. We sat there for a minute, not saying a thing to eachother.

Ryan finally started.  
"I owe you a lot." He said. "If you hadn't done what you did, I'd be dead possibly." He finished.  
I looked over at him to find he was looking at me.  
"I had no choice." I said. "I wasn't just going to let him kill one of my other friends." Ryan patted my on the shoulder.  
"And i'm grateful to have a friend like you." He replied.  
He stood up and made his way up the nearby stairs and out of sight.

I sat there dazed in thought about what I had done. I felt horrible. Another soldier sat down by me, it was Dave. I glanced over at him, that was it. I didn't even act like I cared he was okay and I felt bad about it a little.  
"I'm glad to see your okay." He started.   
"You too." I said back.  
"What happened to Steve out there?" He asked after a bit.  
I explained what had happened and that I was feeling down about doing it.

"Don't be." He said. "You did what you had to do." I looked over at him and smiled to him though my visor.  
I made out him smiling though his. I heard footsteps coming down the creaky stairs, it was Ryan. He made his way to us.  
"You boys want to do some window shopping?" He asked. We glanced up at him.  
"Sure." I replied quietly.  
"Good, get a gun and meet me at the front door at midnight." He said and walked off.

That was only about five minutes away. We borrowed some guns from some soldiers and went to the front door. Ryan came up to us.  
"Good, your ready. Lets go." He said and we made our way out the front door and down the sidewalk.

We where being careless. We walked down the sidewalk in the open holding our guns and merely scanned the area. We knew most of the enemy was way ahead of us, fighting members of the 23rd.  
"So what are we doing?" Asked Dave. "Why only us?"  
Ryan looked over at him and looked back ahead.  
"We found out theirs a store down the road here that may come in use. Its a gun store." Ryan announced.  
We easily understood what he was getting at and continued on down the sidewalk carelessly.

We dashed off for cover when we heard the yells of the enemy up ahead we thought. We heard them talk again and learned they where on the opposite side of the house to our right. I was hiding behind a tree in the lawn, Dave behind a yellow fire hydrant which didn't do much good, on the other side of the sidewalk from me and Ryan had jumped into a bush.

We made our way to the house by us and sat there listening, they where defiantly on the other side of the building, in the back yard. We decided we better take them out or they may find our medical setup about seven houses down. We made our way around the corner of the building and made down the drive way that was beside the building. We came up on the corner, the enemy was on the other side.

Ryan kneeled down, I was behind him and Dave behind me. Ryan came up and got into a firing position on the corner and I stood above him, aiming over his head. The enemy noticed us and looked over. They where members of The Royal Troop and a few seconds later, they where the Royal Dead. All four of them dropped to the ground, Ryan and my BR55 where smoking slightly.

We quickly moved under the cover of night down the street, scaling over small fences and jumping a creek that was in the back yard of someone's house. We soon came out on a street that ran the opposite way than we where heading.  
"Just beyond those buildings that lay before us, thats where the target is." Ryan said.  
We looked all directions before crossing the street, something I had never really took seriously until now.

Ryan dashed across while Dave and I covered him. Nothing happened. Dave went and I covered from my side and Ryan from the other, he made it okay too. I dashed out, headlight came around the corner down the street and fixed on me. I made it across the street and to the others. They where in between two house, a small wall blocked them from cutting between. We where stuck there.

I heard doors open and slam shut, the voices that I did not know filled the air again. Ryan came up to the corner of the building and fired out on them from it.  
"Go! Now! I'll hold them off!" He yelled. "Get guns and ammo and get the supplies back to the others!" He screamed.  
The enemy fired back and Ryan took cover and re-loaded his gun.  
"Now, thats an order!" He yelled and peaked back around and started firing.

Dave and I bolted our and cut left down the house line. Bullets flew everywhere by us. There was a explosion as a grenade went off by the vehicle, another grenade went off by it and the vehicle erupted into a giant fireball. Gun fire that was casing after us stopped. We came to the end of the house line and cut left down another. We found a gap in between two houses and took it, it lead out into a open field.

We stopped and looked out over the field. Across from us where more housing and to the right down the house line we could see the buildings of shops and restraints. We assumed thats where it would be. Off over the field we saw a building with lights on top of it that read 'DAOL DNA KCOL' -- Lock and load backwards.  
"That must be it." said Dave.   
"Yeah." I replied and we where off.

We bolted off for the building though the field at about a one-hundred-thirty-five degree angel from where we had been. We ran as hard as we could, the sound of fighting between Ryan and the enemy came to a end. We stopped in the middle of the field and looked back for a second.   
"Come on lets move." I said and we took off again.

We soon arrived at the back of the shop. Tires and broken beer bottles lay everywhere. Thick wood had been laid up against the building and bullet holes where in it. _Must be where people tried out the guns_ I thought. We went up to the back door. I tried to turn the handle to it but it was locked.  
"I'll check the front." Dave said and made his way around the building, he soon returned.

"The doors locked and the front windows are bared up." He told me.  
I glanced at the door and thought back to what Steve had done.  
"I hope there's no alarms." I said and kicked in the door.  
I half expected an alarm to go off and give us away but none did. We slowly stepped in. The place was a mess. Broken tables and chairs, glass, and about anything else lay everywhere.

We walked further in and found a dead Royal Troop on the floor, his blood still wet. We drew our guns and got ready. I peaked around the corner of the small passage way that lead into a larger room and made out an ammo locker. I stepped out and heard someone breathing heavily and stepped back in behind cover.  
"WWMF military!" I yelled. "Drop any weapons you have and step out where I can see you!" I demanded.  
"What are you doing your going to get us caught by the Chinese." Dave said to me, I shushed him.

"You are.. American?" A shaky voice asked us.  
"I am Thomas Steel, team commander of 5th squad, 15th airborne troop, American Division." I replied.  
Lights came to life overhead. And I heard someone starting to move around.  
"Okay, i'm by a table in the room here." The voice said.  
I peaked around and saw him. I slowly stepped out into the room.

"What are you doing here?" A man asked nervous.  
He stood up and he had a M90 Shotgun in his hands. I stopped and asked him to put it down, he did.  
"We need some weapons and ammo." I said. "We are running low on supplies and need them badly." I told him.   
The man stepped out, leaving his shotgun on the floor where he had been.

"You guys gave me a scare when you kicked in my door." He said making his way to us. "I thought you where more of the Chinese forces." He stopped in front of me. "I got some weapons and ammo. I will give it to you to use and fight the Chinese."  
We accepted and he grabbed his shotgun and lead us into another room.  
"These are dangerous times." He said, as though we didn't know. "I will give you guns and ammo if you leave immediately after and leave me be."  
We again accepted to his terms.

This room was too trashed a lot.  
"I didn't get to finish hiding all the bodies of the enemies I had killed." He continued as he lead us into another room. "They had come in when nearby fighting broke out down across the field."  
We knew what he was talking about.  
"They came in and I shot them down in the hall. I started hiding the bodies incase more came and then I heard someone snooping around the front doors. So I went back to into the room and you guys kicked in the door."

We stopped at the front desk by the front doors. Four dead enemies lay there.  
"One had something that may be important information." I looked at the man.  
He reached in under a counter into a area that was big enough to hold a small stack of papers and pulled a folded sheet and handed it to me.  
"It says something about getting this letter to a nearby commanding officer. The letter covers something about a general named Max and his movement." I froze and took the letter.

I glanced at the paper and put it in a pouch on my belt.  
"Thank you." I said.  
"This way if you will?" He asked and lead us into another room.  
This room was a little bigger then the main lobby. He turned on some lights. This room was very clean. To the right where a bunch of cabinets and ahead was a rack full of guns, to the left where cabinets with sliding doors, inside where ammo magazines, belts and whatever else.

"Help yourselves." He told us.  
"Dave." I said and he replied. "Go check the guns and name them off for me, i'll pull out ammo for that gun."  
He replied again and made his way to the guns and I went to the ammo cabinets.  
"Just bust it opened." The man said. I smashed the glass door open.

"M6D." Dave started and I pulled out the ammo for that gun as he called them off. "M90, M6C, and BR55."  
I laid out all the ammo for the guns called in front of me. Ammo for others guns he didn't have I left.  
"And." Dave started up again. "Snake Wires." He said as he pulled out a clear container full with them and looked over at the man. I looked over at him too.  
"Your lucky where at war or you be in prison for a very long time." I said to him. He laughed uneasy a bit.

I picked up the ammo and put them into pouchs until they where full, Dave did as well. We left extra M90 ammo behind for the man and thanked him for everything. Dave handed me a few guns and I held them in my hands.   
"We better not get caught or where in trouble." I said.   
"Tell me about it." Dave said back. "No way we can fight back and carry all of these."

We made our way out and to the back door, from which we had entered. Someone stepped in as we came up to it and I stopped.  
"Don't talk, lets just go." The man said, it was Ryan.  
I smiled under my visor and let out a small sigh. We followed him out and he took some guns.   
"The others moved out." He said to me and Dave. "There just down the way here, waiting for us."  
He stopped and looked up at the man who had given us the guns and ammo.  
"You coming along?" Asked Ryan. The man turned down the offer.  
We thanked him again and we departed for the others.

We made our way into another alley and stopped at a back door of a huge building. Ryan knocked on it and it opened, a allied soldier stood on the other side. We entered. We came into a gymnasium, everyone stood out in the middle of a basketball court. We made our way up to them and put the guns down and laid ammo around the floor. Soldiers that could fight began to pick up weapons and ammo.

As I was emptying ammo out of my pouch and giving it to soldiers, I pulled out the letter.  
"Ryan!" I yelled. "This letter was retrieved from a dead soldier, it covers movement of the enemy general Max." I said.  
He opened it and looked over it.  
"How do you know... its all in Chinese?" He asked.  
I told him that it was what the man at the guns store had said.  
"Maybe he can read Chinese." I said to Ryan.  
He put the letter in a pouch on his belt.  
"Good find, well give it to command when we can, the'll find out what it says."

Another CO walked up to Ryan and whispered something to him. Ryan nodded and the CO walked off.  
"Get ready, where moving out to the command post in the north of the city." Ryan said.  
Ryan walked over to the stands and stood up on the first row.  
"Listen up." He said and everyone gazed up at him. "Members of my squad that been issued as capable to fight, make your way to the back door. Those that are under the command of Stephen Willaburg that have been issued under my command, make your way to the door as well." Ryan announced and hopped down and made his way to us.

People began to make there way for the back door. We did to, Ryan walked with us. We all stepped out side and we all knew what we where going to do, which was make our way all he way to the command post in the north part of town where the CP was. We locked and loaded our guns and in a line began to make our way down the alley. We now held important intel on the enemy and it was all the more reason to get there.

_June 20th, 255212:46 AM_

A enemy vehicle passed by at the end of the alley, we stayed still and they didn't see us. Ryan had point, I was behind him and Dave was behind me, a trail of seven others followed him. We heard footsteps running down the alley behind us, we all shifted out attention down that way. A allied soldier was jogging up to us, it was Steve. He had a M6D pistol and he fell in behind Dave after asking a soldier for the spot.

I glanced at him uneasy and so did Ryan. Ryan looked away and checked the corner, it was clear. We began to cross the street. I glanced to my left and though the night street lights, small fires burned on wreckage and a building with a blown out on the side where still visible. It gave the place a creepy tone. We crossed the street and continued down the alley on the other side.

To our left another building line went blocked us and to our right was housing. We went on for about forty-five minutes of crossing streets, walking down houseline, and cutting though buildings. Soon after we could hear gunfire ahead. We moved on and it got louder. We soon started to enter the metropolises sections of the city. The buildings got bigger, turning into skyscrapers and large stores. We must be in the center of the city I thought.

The broadcaster said the city was owned half-and-half a bit before we dropped in, but there was no sign of enemies or allies in the area. Fighting could be heard further out in the distance, the Chinese must of taken more ground from the 23rd and supporters. Soon we saw enemies. They where walking down a street in a two columns, a CO stood in the front on the right and a man holding a flag stood beside him on the left.

They where on there way to the front. We counted them, there was about thirty. We decided to follow them and see where their lines where. We followed them down street after street and then finally we made out a mobie HQ. The troop we had been following continued on and we stopped. We cut across the street to our left and entered a shop on the other side. The wall had been blown out so it was easy to get into.

I glanced around and I just noticed the destruction that lay before me. Cars and stores where on fire, and smoke blocked the sight of stars thought the entire sky. A dog ran by us in fear and down the street where we had come from. The sidewalk in front of the store was cracked everywhere, all the sidewalks where. I looked further down the street, away from the enemy HQ and saw tons of crater holes. Trash blew though the air and half a building lay in the catered street.

I looked back at the HQ and then to Ryan.  
"What are we going to do?" I asked while he observed the HQ with his binoculars.  
"Where not going to fight this one." He said. "Well cut more to the left and go around and flank the enemy attacking our HQ ahead of us."

We cut though the building and into another alley, this city was full of them I thought to myself. We exited the alley rather than go down it and headed down a nearby street. After heading west for awhile, we cut right and made our way north to where our HQ was. A pocket of enemy infantry stepped out around a corner in front of us and where making their way down the same street, heading for the same area we where, it was also the troop we had been stalking earlier.

They didn't notice us and we took the advantage and fired on them. They started to scatter, some even ran into each other as they tried to find cover. In a matter of seconds they where all dead on the sidewalk and street. Cover was everywhere, they had just panicked and didn't see it and payed with their lives for their fear. We continued on ahead, making our way over the dead enemy bodies in their blue armor.

We probably wouldn't of seen them in the dark if it wasn't for the fires that burned everywhere and gave light to the surrounding area.

A squadron of dropship made their way overhead and we jumped to the ground for cover. We took it as the enemies and they headed off down to our HQ, there was about eight of them. We got up and continued on.

We soon came up on the main street that lead to our HQ. We followed it into Section B of the city. We entered and found a giant lake off to our left, buildings extended out into the water on concrete platforms, it looked like the ten story buildings where floating on water. I quickly realized that it was the ocean, not a lake. Ahead of us lay a row of palm trees that followed along the street. The street sloped down and a walkway stood above it. Allied soldiers stood pinned on the catwalk by gunfire.

We quickly looked to our right and saw a enemy MG shooting at them from the corner of a building.  
"Assault the position and take it!" Ryan yelled and we all bolted at the MG from the rear flank.  
We shot as we went. The gunner didn't realize the incoming fire at him until his mate fell over dead on him. It was also confirmed when a bullet shot in though his visor and killed him.

The soldiers on the platform looked at us and then started to shoot up at the building on the side we couldn't see.  
"Breach the building!" Ryan ordered and we moved into the building entrance though a wall opening.  
The lower level was clear and a ramp extended up onto a second level. We went up carefully. To the right wa a passage that lead to a walkway out of the building and ahead was another exit along the wall.

We went up to the exit in front of us and leaned up on the wall. We could hear a MG firing on the other side and people talking. We came up on the corner and peaked around. Across from us where the other walkway led into another building was a long window seal where the enemy stood shooting out. Ryan exited around the corner and kneeled down, we followed him out. He took aim at the MG gunner and fired, killing both him and his mate in a few bursts.

I took aim on the infantry that was firing at the men on the walkway. Standing over ryan's head I fired. Killing the two of them. We where on a platform and below us was another enemy position with a MG. We could also heard them talking. We walked on the platform above them and made our way across the walkway into the other building where the enemy was using the long window seal for cover against our other allies.

_This must be the headlong of the fight _I thought to myself.  
We quietly came up on the enemy, they didn't even notice us. They where kneeling up and down to fire over the seal and take cover behind the small wall, there where two small pillars in the room behind them. We crept up behind them and each picked a man. We stood behind our targets and pulled out and fixed our bayonets on our guns, the enemy was so focused on the position of the other teams that they never saw it coming.

We looked at each other, those without a target stood behind the pillars and we all nodded. We took a step forward and at the same time we hacked our enemy up with our bayonets. I stabbed mine into the person in front of me, putting the knife though the rubbery weak spot of the armor. He screamed and shot upward, he turned his head and looked at me and said something in Chinese and fell to the ground. I stabbed him again and he let out another scream, I stabbed him until he quit moving.

Together we all lined up along the window seal like the enemy had. We slowly lifted our weapons over the seal and all took aim at the enemy MG that was below the platform with the MG we had taken out. We fired. The gunner and ammo feeder dropped, infantry around them too went down quickly and without warning. We all re-loaded our guns and continued on down the building. Heavy fighting still filled the air.

The building feed off into a street oddly. We looked down the street and it lead into a tunnel, we glanced off down the street and it headed down to where the walkway was... or was supposed to, the bridge had been blown off. We crossed and entered the building on the opposite side. We made our way down and came upon another catwalk, this one lead us to friendly soldiers.

"Friendly!" Ryan yelled and we stepped around the corner and made our way down the catwalk.  
Enemy forces came into view below us. We crossed the catwalk and came onto the platform where the allied soldiers where taking cover against pieces of concrete that feed upward on the outer edge of the platform.  
"Damn good to see some friendly reinforcements." A soldier said.

"Where's your command post at?" Ryan asked the man.  
"Just past that building." The soldier said and pointed off down the platform and to the building that was across it. "On the other side." He added. "We got troops on that walkway out there, follow the street straight down and it leads to the gate entrance, the CP is on the other side of that gate."  
Ryan nodded to show he understood.

"We also got Germans off that way on the flank of our CP..." The soldier started.  
"Germans?" Ryan interrupted.  
"Yeah, they came in suddenly by dropship over the east coast."  
We now knew what the unknown air team was, it was the Germans arriving to join the fight.  
"Well just have to take care of the Germans too." Ryan said.  
The soldier looked at Ryan.  
"Take care of? They're on our side now." He replied.


	14. Operation End

A MG filled the air and we glanced down at the enemy below us. We got into a line and fired down on them while they where suppressed by a M41 on the opposite side. They soon all dropped dead. We entered the building through a blown out wall by the platform. We hopped down to the floor inside. It was a spiral walkway that lead to different sections of the building. We made our way down though it continued up for quite some ways. There where also stairs that feed in along the inside-side of the building.

We made our way to the bottom, following the soldier we had been talking to. The fighting had come to an end except down by the walkway, our flank on the enemy destroyed the entire foot hold in the area that the enemy had. We now had regained territory back down to where we had entered section B at. We walked along the dirt ground. I looked up, to my upper right was a catwalk that feed into another building that had a long window seal on it too, allies where using it for cover. Ahead of me on a ledge about five stories up sat a M41 Stationary, it kept enemies from entering the building from the lower sections in the back.

We circled the building and climbed a metal side that lead to a higher section of ground. We walked around the building and up some stairs onto a walking platform. We dashed down to the lower section on the other side as bullets landed near by us, we took cover behind a bus that lay flipped over in front of the gate. The enemy was stuck back at the entrance into this section of the city, unable to enter under the fire of the allies on the walkway. The bullets couldn't hit us do to a small slope ahead, we where below their line of sight. The bullets hit randomly above us.

The soldier banged on the metal or iron gate.  
"Open up!" He yelled.   
A few seconds later the gates slid open up. The first thing that came into view was the command bunker that sat in the middle of the street. Well, it wasn't really a command bunker, it was a medical hut and pretty much showed that this was the command post. Stores ran along the right side of us down the street and the street cut off down to the right after awhile. Platforms where above the small stores, and ramps intersected in between some stores that lead to the uppers levels and further back behind them into other sections of the city.

"Welcome to camp Turf." The soldier said.  
Guards saluted us as we entered.  
"Where's the commanding general?" Ryan asked. "We have information on enemy troop movement."  
"Follow me." The soldier told Ryan and lead us up the nearest ramp and though some tight back alleys. We soon came out into a open area where crates where staked high and everywhere. A few small tables and a large table sat in the middle and a man stood there.

Guards stopped us as we came up.  
"State your business." The marines said at the same time.  
"We've got information on enemy movement for the commanding general here." Now please move.  
The guard stepped in front of the our guide as he tried to step though.   
"Please wait." Said the marine as the other walked off to the general and talked to him.  
After a few seconds the marine waved us forward as he walked back.  
"Wait here you guys." Ryan ordered as he walked up to the general.

They talked for a bit and Ryan handed him the paper. The general looked over it and pulled out a hand held radio and said something into it. Ryan talked to him for a bit longer and walked back to us.  
"Alright, where staying here for awhile." Ryan said. "That is General James Owenson. He is our new troop commander, we have been... annexed if you will, into his command." Ryan finished.

A marine walked up to us, he was missing his right arm and had a few stitches around his face.  
"Gentlemen, if you will follow me I will show you to your quarters." He said.  
He lead us down another tight alley walkway and we entered a fairly decent sized room that was filled with cots.  
"This is where everyone in the inner command camp sleeps." He said. I glacned around, there where only thirty or so cots, that wasn't to many.

"Obviously with the overflow of reinforcements coming in to use the camp now, thirty cots isn't much for about the one-thousand men that remain out of the 23rd." The marine stated.  
_Eight-hundred men left, the 23rd had taken an extreme amount of losses from four-hundred-thousand _I thought to myself.  
"If case you didn't know." The marine continued. "The Germans have come in on our side even though they're a EWCU nation.

"Probably a trick." A soldier said.  
"Well, they have helped defend the position a lot since they arrived." The marine stated. "Now for some basic things about the camp. You can do about whatever you please if your not assigned to a task. If your sleeping, you must give up your bed when the next group comes into sleep. The toilets are inside some of the stores, you may use them when you please and their are no showers around here so don't count on showering while your here."

A soldier sniffed at one of the caught.  
"That explains the bad smells around here." He said.  
The marine laughed and I began to remove my armor and slide parts of it under a cot.  
"Your sniffing the bunk I use." He said. "A mechanized soldier puked all over me once and I haven't showered since then." I stopped what I was doing and looked at the marine, I suddenly made out the face, it was the marine I had fought with in Antarctica.

"I'll see you guys later." He said and exited though two big doors that exited into the street.  
I stood there in disbelief that I had seen the marine again, I thought he had been killed in Antarctica. I exited the building in search for him, he wasn't in sight any more. I went back in and finished removing my armor and crawled into a cot. I pulled the blanket up over my body and slid the pillow in under my head that I found under the bed.

I looked up and noticed that some of the roof had been blown out. I looked though the hole into the night sky. I stared deep into the sky at the stars. The smoke didn't hide them way out here. I looked at them shining and my mind began to play with me, one flashed a tad purple and looked like it was moving slowly across the sky, though you cold hardly tell.

I closed my eyes and shook my head and glanced back out at the stars. Everything seemed normal again. I soon began to fall asleep as I laid there and tried to drown out the sounds of gunfire. The thought of the marine being the only thing keeping me awake.

_June 20th, 2552, 7:00 AM_

"Alright buddy, it's mine now." Someone said shaking me.  
I opened my eyes to find a marine shaking me, he looked as though he was about to fall asleep standing over me. I was still tired and I rolled over in the cot and started to go back to sleep.  
"Look buddy, this is my cot now, now get out." He said with a tad bit of anger in his voice.  
"Fine." I replied and rolled out of the bed and onto the street like floor.

"Thank you." He replied and dropped straight into the cot, landing and bounced up a bit and then was still. He was already asleep, which kind of scared me, I never seen someone fall asleep so quickly in such a manner. I got up and pulled the rest of his body that was hanging half off the bed onto it. I straightened him out on the bed and put his head more on the pillow and covered him with the blanket. I felt like his mother somewhat.

I bent down and pulled out sections of my armor and took it outside with me. I walked out and found myself standing in my boxers in front of a group of female marines. They looked at me and all leaned in among each other and started laughing a bit, one even whistled at me. I started to put on my armor as fast as I could, embarrassed about not realizing I was in my boxers.

I stared to make my way down the street and walked by the female marines as they sat up against the side of a wall. One of them reached out and slapped me across my armor that covered my butt. I looked back as I walked away, they sat there laughing and whispering to each other. I ended up getting them stuck in my mind all day.

I made my way down the street and around the corner to find a line of steaming pots and pans and a line of troops with trays.  
"Their giving out food Steve." Steve said behind me, causing me to jump a small bit.  
I turned around to find him already with a tray of food.   
"Go get some, Dave and I will be over at where the street turns." He said.  
I nodded and made my way in line.

Someone handed me a tray, the next person put a water bottle on it. Down the line people laid out Roast, bread, peas, and corn. I exited the line with my tray of food and headed back for Steve and the others back off by a fence that was in a wall that they sat up against off the side of the road. I found Ryan in the group as well. I stepped up to them.   
"You two not mad at each other?" I asked.  
Steve looked up at me puzzled.  
"What?" He asked back as though I was some nut.  
I looked at Ryan, he started making a rubbing motion on his neck and turned it into a cutting look with his finger and back to rubbing it. I got the hint to keep quiet.  
"Never mind." I said. "I had a dream you two where mad at each other, it seemed pretty real."

Steve laughed at me.  
"Why would I ever be mad at Ryan. I wouldn't do anything to him." I glanced at him, Ryan and Dave did too.  
I couldn't believe he didn't remember. That smack to his head must of done more than I thought... Well, I take that back, I thought it killed him at first.

I sat down beside Dave and removed my helmet and sat it aside.  
"So, has anyone seen Jake?" Steve asked.  
I was about to take a bite of food but I stopped. I looked out the corner of my eye at Steve.   
"Uh, don't you remember, Jake was attached to another unit." I said.  
Steve looked at me oddly.  
"No I don't." He said puzzled.  
"Yeah." Ryan said. "I was forced to send him to the 7th infantry, commands orders."  
Steve glanced at Ryan.  
"Thats sucks." Steve said and continued eating, I finally started.

We sat there eating and talking in the morning light. We finished and just sat there talking and joking among ourselves. We where sitting there when a man in sage armor walked up in front of us. We all glanced up, it was general Owenson. We stood up, knocking our trays and trash to the side and we snapped to attention.  
"At ease." He said and we put our hands behind our backs.

I glanced back behind the general and saw the three female marines, they stopped and where watching. They probably thought we got into trouble and we where their entertainment.  
"The letter you brought in." Owenson started. "Do you know what it said?" He asked.   
"No, sir." We replied.  
He looked over us and looked at Ryan in his green armor.  
"Commander...Ryan is it?" He asked.  
"Yes, sir." Ryan said back.  
"Alright, I got a task for you and your team Ryan. Would you care for a shot at Max Long?"  
"Max Long? The General?" Ryan asked back.  
"The very man."

We all looked at each other.  
"Yes, sir!" Ryan said proudly for being assigned the task. "Thank you very much for the opportunity, sir! I... We won't let you down!"  
The general chuckled a bit.  
"I'm sure you guys won't." He said. "It will be an assassination strike if possible. We know where he is, so the plan is to snipe him till he quits moving. Killing him will reduce the fighting effort of the Russian and French fractions and put a lot of pressure off of our shoulders. The Germans also have sided with us and gave us extra information that the message didn't provide as well."

"Why have the Germans sided with us sir?" Ryan asked.  
"The Germans observed the fights going on in Antarctica. They saw a team deployed into a canyon area get attacked by the EWCU. They also saw the counter attack. They know the propaganda going on in the EWCU national front are lies. Max has set the EWCU to believe we started the war. The Germans know better."

I thought back to when we left after the counter attack in that region and the German sniper I had seen on the high cliff side.  
"The Germans said that Max has been hiding something very secret from the rest of the EWCU, something that may relate to the giant explosion that happened in Antarctica... Anyway, meet back with me in a hour for your full briefing then you'll move out." Owenson finished.  
"A hour sir? That soon?" Steve asked.  
"Yes, the sooner the better." Owenson replied.

Steve shook his head up and down slightly.  
"I'm game." He said.  
I smiled a bit about the words he used to agree with it.  
"Good." Owensons replied and started to walk off for his quarters. "Meet me in one hours." He said across the way. "End the war."   
I stood there trying to believe taking out Max Long, I now knew his full name. He had the same last name as Andy.

I froze at the thought of Andy being related to him for a second, could it be possible. I clenched my fist tight. Ryan, Steve and Dave looked at me.  
"What's under your skin?" Dave asked.  
I looked at them.

"Andy... Long." I replied.

_June 20th, 2552, 7:48 AM_

"Andy Long right?" Owenson asked.  
"Yes, Andy Long. A WWMF soldier in the American Division."  
Ryan, Dave, Steve and I where in the commanders quarters, we where doing a profile and extensive background check on him. A marine was typing like a mad man on a laptop.  
"I got him." The marine said and stopped typing. "Andy W. Long" He spined the laptop around for us to see the picture of him. It was him.

The marine spined it back around to him.  
"Born in Ohio. Andy parents names are Jullie and Max." The marine continued on but I didn't need to hear any more information. The parents names confirmed that he was the son of Max Long, the targeted enemy general.  
"Well now, we know how the Chinese knew when to attack when we where weakest." Owenson said.

Words spoken by Andy ran though my head.  
_'The Chinese invaded Brazil and took the capital within a few hours. The somehow figured out that the entire Brazilian Division was here in Antarctica and their capitol was defenceless...They can hit us from the north or make an assault on Mexico, putting them out of the war_..._ and onward to America'._

"He basically rubbed their plans our faces." I said quietly.  
I formed a fist with my right hand and slammed it into my left palm.   
"Because of Andy... Jake is dead." I said to myself quietly. "Because of him, that soldier lost his feet to the snake wires. Because of him... Because of him!..." I said the last part out loud and the others glanced out at me and looked away, they could tell I was deep in thought.

"Put out a want for him, alive it possible." Owenson said.  
"Yes sir." The marine replied and began typing away for a second. "Done sir. Warrant for his arrest as a spy is out." He finished.  
"Nicely done." The general replied and turned his attention to us.  
"Alright, the mission still goes as planned. I'll resupply your entire team with men, weapons, and ammo." Owenson started.  
He leaned forward over his desk at us and used laid his head onto his right palm and rested his elbow on the desk.

"I'll resupply your entire team. You will go in for a sniping kill. If you don't kill him or can't get off the shot, you are to move in on foot and take kill him at all costs."  
"Sir." The marine interrupted.  
"Stealth fighters have taken photos of Max's surrounding lands. Its located in a desert like area and is has a fortified bunker position on the flank of Max's believed position."

"The bunker over looks Max's position, Max's position is fortified against the bunker in a small way. It has armor extending into the air in front of it. The General's position is behind the armor extenders. I believe if the bunker is taken, Max will be unable to retreat from the grounds." The marine added.  
_June 20th, 2552, 1:59 AM  
_

Steve suddenly walked off, I watched him as he went but didn't follow.

"Very good work." Owens replied. "New plan, take the bunker and keep him pinned if you have to move in. Keep Max from getting away and try and take him alive. I'll have a airborne ODST troop on standby if need. This is now classified as 'Operation End', Dismissed!"  
We all saluted, even the marine got up and saluted.  
"Finish the fight guys." The marine said. "I wouldn't mind going home to see my daughter." He sat back down and watched us leave.

"All personal clear the main HQ street for Pelican landings." A voice of a speaker announced.  
We started to make our way to the street, people began to make their way up the ramps and to the upper sections of the area. We rallied everyone up on our squad and briefed them on the upcoming mission. Many where excited to take a crack at Max and end the war much sooner.

I went down to the street to find a store door open and Steve inside puking in the nearby toilet.  
"Are you alright." I asked him and he collapsed to the ground over the toilet.  
I pulled him up around my arms and looked into the toilet. He had barfed up a greenish slime. I took him to the nearby medical tent and told the medics what happened. One of them took Steve and another went off to get samples of the puke.

Ryan approached me.  
"What wrong with Steve?" He asked.  
"He's got the unknown virus." I replied.  
We remained quiet. I was forced to brush it off, I alarmed Dave of what happened to Steve. We both became upset about what had what was happening to Steve and just before the big mission as well. I was glad he didn't do it on the way or during the mission and was happy he was a the camp when he passed out. I wanted to go see Steve but knew I had to get ready. I only hoped there was a cure for the sickness by now, I didn't know.

We acquired additional ammo and supplies in the area where the cots where and made our way down the street. The three female marines where on the side of the street and waved at me, I waved back and continued making my way. The Pelican came in and landed in front of the medical tent in the street. We sat around the corner to make sure they had room. The speakers came to life again.  
"Operation End is a go."

We bolted out from around the corner and got on the dropship. The legs pulled back up into the dropship and the trusters kicked up. The Pelican began to ascend into the air, leaving Camp Turf behind, along with Steve.


	15. The New War

We had been flying for hours, how far was this desert I wondered. Only a thirty or so minute the pilots said, but that's what they said thirty minutes ago. We sat quietly but we where all extremely pumped and ready to fight. We already had our guns locked and loaded and got to know the new additions to our team as well.

"Command has a treat for you guys." The pilots said over the com. "Patching though... now." There was a burst of static and then voices.

"Tell us your name!" A voice demanded.  
"Andy... Andy Long." The reply came.  
I smiled, we had him.  
"Your the son of Max Long, aren't you!" The person demanded. There was no response from Andy. "Burn him!" The voice said and I heard screams coming from Andy. "Your the son of Max Long, are you not?" The voice demanded again.  
"Yes." Andy said half crying in pain.

"It seems you went AWOL for awhile. Why have you been AWOL so much?"   
"Cause I was giving intel to my father!" Andy said.  
"A spy?" The voice asked.  
"Yes, I was spying." Andy replied scared.  
"Max, why did he start this war?" There was a pause. "Why!" I heard the man yell and a fist slam on a table.  
"I don't know!"  
"You do know!" The voice said. "He knows doesn't he?" The voiced asked someone.  
"Yeah." A different voice responded.  
"Are you scared of me Andy?" The demanding person asked.  
"No." Andy replied.

"He lied, didn't he?" The person asked.  
"Yeah, he lied." The mysterious person replied.  
I recognized the way the person was interrogating, it was the same way we had been yelled at when we dropped into Fort Containment... It was Brock Flood who was questioning Andy.

"How many men are guarding your father?" Flood asked.  
"Why does it matter?" Andy asked back.  
"Cause, we wanted to make sure he had enough company in his little hole in Antarctica where the nuke went off!" There was a pause.  
I figured out where we where going, back to Antarctica. The 'desert' was the wasteland from where the nuke went off.

"About eighty men." Andy replied.  
"Well now, we better make sure there more people there for the party." Flood said and paused for a second.

"Why did you do it, give him intel?" He asked afterward.  
"He's my father, I had to help him. Like any other person would do for theirs." Andy said back hard.  
And I felt bad for it a small bit, but that feeling quickly went away.  
"I would give back intel to the WWMF as well, if they caught it."  
I thought back to those words he had said. He was giving his information on their movements, he was helping us back. We just never caught on.

"I wouldn't help my father if he was the person who started a World War!" Flood yelled.  
There was a pause.  
"He has his reasons, he knows more than you will figure out before it's to late. He keeps it most top secret, I don't even know exactly what it is, but I know something's there."  
There was another paused.  
"I think where done with him, sir." I heard someone whisper.   
"Agreed." Brock replied.

There was the sound of a pistol being cocked and a gunshot, followed by a body falling to the floor. My eyes became wet, the very person I had trusted we really the enemy. I began to wonder if he was really that much of a enemy, what where the secrets that Max kept that he didn't tell Andy, could it have changed everything?

People in the dropship began to let out a cheer over the death of Andy. I was the only one who didn't. I had grown tired and confused in during the war. Those close to me started to die or where really not my friend at all. Steve being sick only made it worse.

"Three minutes. LZ is in sight." The pilot said over the com. "Beautiful timing."

We soon began to descend and we touched the ground and began to pile out. We made our way though the dusted dark sky for about ten minutes and up the the cliff ahead. We gazed out when we reached the edge.

Ahead of us down in the canyon like area was the bunker, it could be easily made out. To the right was the line of armor that stuck up into the air and a tunnel could be made in the hillside. We stood up and backed away from the cliff. We regrouped and began to talk about how we should approach this.

We discussed it out and made our way back to the ledge, I had a hard time making it out in the dark. I found it when I got that sudden rush of free fall. I slammed into the side of the cliff halfway down and crashed into the hard ground below. I laid there, silent and not moving. Ryan then hanged himself over and attempted to slide down the side, but ended up on his stomach anyway, but not as hard as I did.

He made his way over to me.  
"Thomas!" He said in a loud whisper. "Thomas are you okay?"  
I regained to touch with reality and began to figure out what was going on. I looked at Ryan.  
"I'm fine I think."  
He extended his hand to help me up.  
"We gotta move." He said.  
I reached out and grabbed at it, my hand went though his. I grabbed at the wrong Ryan.

"Are you okay?" He asked again.  
"Yeah, just keep your bodies together." I replied, still a tad bit unaware of what was happening and not with reality.  
He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet, I almost fell back over. I was extremely dizzy and I felt like I was gonna hurl, my head was also felt light. A few minutes afterwards I started getting back to normal.  
"Toss us down our guns." Ryan said over the com.  
Four guns flew off at us. Ryan caught his and my slammed into my visor.

I took a step back from the force of it and looked down at my gun, it was only one gun now.  
"Are you okay?" Ryan asked.  
I could tell that even in the situation and type of mission we where in, he was trying somewhat not to laugh.  
"I'm good, that fixed me." I replied and picked up my gun.  
"Good, then lets move out." He replied to me before contacting Dave on the com and telling him to watch from the cliffs for Max if he tried to escape.

We made our way down toward the bunker. We took cover behind a big rock. Two guards stood outside the bunker talking and having a smoke, they where mechanized and had their helmets off.  
"Hostile, front." A soldier said over the com.  
"We have a line of sight into the bunker, sir." Another voice said.  
I looked up on at the ledge, they where up behind the bunker, they had a firing line into it.

"Silencers on." Ryan said.  
"Copy that." Someone replied.  
I twisted the silencer onto the barrel of my BR55 that had been tossed down to me.  
"Get a firing sector on the bunker." Ryan ordered.  
I could see the team come up along the lege and go prone at the cliff side. Guns fixed into the bunker.  
"Firing sector hot." Someone replied.  
"Green light" Ryan said over the com and turned and peaked around the rock at the two guards.

They jumped and attempted to pull their side arms out, yelling something as they did so. Ryan opened up and they dropped dead, not having got a shot off. Voices started up inside the bunker and the team fired in on them, after which only moans from the wounded russians could be heard.   
"Bunker looks clear." A voice over the com announced.   
"Get down here." Ryan ordered.  
He and I made our way into the bunker, guns at the ready.

Lights hung on the side of the bunker walls, giving the area a creepy tone. The bunker had a catwalk that made off back into the cliff side behind it, under our squad on the cliff top. I glanced over and saw movement come up to the corner of the cave entrance.  
"Ryan!" I yelled and pulled my gun up to sight.  
The enemy fired at us and I fired back.

My BR55 beat his SMG and he quickly went down, we where fine. The team began to 'slide' down the hill, crash landing at the bottom. The bunker was a platform that had two holes in the side of giant pieces of armored defenses. A MG sat in each of the openings overlooking a open area, one looked over the generals spot and one looked over the bunkers left flank.

"Man those MG's!" Ryan yelled.  
I got on the one over looking Max's position, troops broke out from the cover across the way and where advancing though the open on our position. I fired. I wasn't used to firing a MG and bullets flew wildly everywhere. I shot to the left at a ground and they went down, and the middle and worked my way right. One man got though and was quickly put down by the others.

"Williams!" Ryan yelled. "Take Thomas's position on that MG, Robinson, take the other, MG gunners cover us! Everyone else fall in!"  
Ryan bolted out of the bunker and rest of us followed, except for the gunners. We made our way out to a small hill line in the open, enough to lie down and use as cover, which we did. I jumped to the ground and began to fire my rifle at the enemy across the way.

They peaked in and out from behind their armored coverings and shot back with SMGs and MA5Bs.  
"Rock!" Ryan yelled out and a man with a M19 Launcher made his way to him.  
"Blow them out from behind their cover!" Ordered Ryan.  
"Yes sir." Rock replied.  
The soldier took aim with his rocket launcher and shot. The rocket hissed though the air and hit the ground just to the side and behind the armored area, where the enemy was using it for cover. Bodies flew out from behind one.

They began to shift their lines to their right, and troops ran out though the open and behind cover of a small cliff hill that curved out away from us. They where on the move to flank us. They came into sight down the ways and to our far left, the MG gunner in the bunker opened up on them and they began to drop. They began to retreat back to their lines.

We had a perfect defense against them, they couldn't retreat or attack. Dave began picking them off behind their cover with his S2 AM Sniper from the cliff side. The enemy numbers began to drop.  
"Where the relieving force from Battalion, we got troops, weapons and ammo." A voice called over the com. "Where are we needed?"  
Ryan rolled over and pulled out a map and called out a bunch of letters and numbers over the com.

"Copy that." A voice replied.  
I looked into the sky and watched as fireballs arcing though the lower atmosphere. They stated to descend on our position and the fire went out. Small blue thrusters kicked out under them seconds later. They where airborne drop pods, the same kind I had dropped into Containment with. They slammed to the ground on the enemies far right flank and emerged out.

ODST Helljumpers entered the fight and began to push in from the right. Ryan looked out at the enemy, they where now all shooting at the ODST who where on their flank.  
"Charge!" Ryan yelled out and we started to stand up.  
We froze seconds later.  
"Take cover!" Ryan yelled and we got back down, the ODST began to pull back a bit as well.

We heard the squealing sound of death. A tank popped into view in front of us and fired on the MG in the bunker. Our gun was silence, there was no more gun, there was no more gunner. We got down and stopped shooting. The tanks MG fired down the way at the ODST.  
"Rock! Rock! Hit that armor with your Anti-Tank Launcher!" Ryan ordered.

Rock made his way and stood up on the small hill and kneeled down. He took aim and pulled the trigger... nothing happened. He looked at his gun, and turned to Ryan!  
"I think its jammed!" Rock yelled out.  
We sat their in fear.  
"I'll try again!"  
He took aim and pulled the trigger, nothing happened. He pulled the trigger one last time. The gun backfired and the round exploded in the gun. Rock flew back to the ground dead, the launcher in pieces. Part of a arm landed beside me, I tossed it away.

"Everyone except Thomas circle around and join the ODST! Keep that tank firing that way so Thomas and I can move in and destroy it!" Ryan yelled and the team made its way off around the bunker and out of sight.  
I glanced at Ryan and he nodded at me.  
"We can do this." I said.  
Within minutes the enemy was soon fully focused on the ODST backed by our mechanized team. Dave came down the hill side and fell in by us.

We bolted out from cover and began to cross the open area. The tanks cannon fired at the team at the end of the way on the flank. A boot flew by over me and Ryan. I glanced back at the position, had it made a direct hit on the others? Anger filled over me and I ran harder.  
"Toss your grenades from here!" Ryan yelled, but I continued on ahead for the tank.

I made it to the tank and jumped up on the body section of it and opened up the drivers hatch. A person suddenly looked up and yelled something as I threw a nuclear grenade inside of the tank and shut the lid. The enemy infantry looked over at me but never shot, they where in disbelief that I had charged the tank and where tying to figure out what was happening.

I sprinted back for Ryan. I counted to four and jumped though the air. A second later a huge explosion filled the air and I crashed to the ground. Screams came out from the infantry that where near the tank. Gunshots from the allied position on the flank started up. Ryan and I assaulted the position. We shot down the last of the resistance and found a nearby cave entrance.

We glanced at each other and raised our guns and took a step forward, preparing to enter and secure the general.  
"Don't shoot. Where coming out." A voice inside the cave said.  
We kept our guns at the ready, waiting for someone to come out guns blazing. Instead a man in tan and steel colored armor steped out, guards followed with their hands over their heads in defeat. The man in the tan armor, it was Max. The others began to make their way to us. Max and about nine guards stood there.

"Max Long." Ryan said.  
He didn't respond.  
"If only you knew the true purpose." He said after awhile. "The real threat."  
We looked at him.  
"What do you mean?" Ryan asked.  
"You would never understand. Which is why I had to do what I did." He said.  
His head shot upward and the guards pulled their hands away from the top of their head as well. They had M6D pistols in their hands. They had hidden the extremely small high-powered pistol under their hands.

I jumped to the side and behind some cover. A few ODST dropped to the ground. I shot back, killing a few guards. They opened up on me and the General took off and took cover behind a line of metal armor. A ODST soldier got to cover and shot back, the soldier was hit behind cover and killed.   
"Bastards!" I yelled as I peaked back out from cover and finished off the guards.

I reloaded my gun and looked around. Me and one other man where all that was left standing. I looked around, six remaining ODST lay on the ground, a few dead while others wounded. Ryan and Dave where two of the wounded mechanized that laid there, the last mechanized soldier lay dead. I looked over where Max had taken cover at. He took off down the line of armor. It looked as though a shadow chased him along the wall, the shadow looked alive though, I couldn't tell if it was a guard or what in the darkness.

"You!" I yelled and looked over at the ODST soldier who was behind cover.   
"Get on the radio there and call in for evac and medical teams for about seven people!"  
He nodded and headed for the radio. I bolted off down the line after Max. I found him at the end of the armor line by a thin metal pillar, it was big enough for him to almost hide behind. He stood there as though he was waiting for me.

I made my way up to him. My gun fixed on him again.  
"Drop any weapons you may have!" I ordered, my gun pointed at him.  
He tossed a pistol and knife to the ground a ways out.  
"I will not run. I have failed to keep it contained. Even the help of the unexpected wasn't enough." He started.  
"What are you talking about?" I asked in a demanding tone to him.  
I came up the right side of the pillar to Max and he began to walk around it to the left, we where walking a circle, talking. My gun still pointing in his direction.

"You already don't understand." He said. "I told you that you wouldn't. Thats why I had to start a war, to mask it. The WWMF would never alow my plans to be used." I listened on.  
"Tell me what you know and I may spare your life." I told him.  
He looked over at me.  
"A deal then." He said. "This mysterious virus as you have come to call it, it's a living creature." He had my full attention. I listened as we walked around in the circle around the pillar.

"Its not really a virus, is a living creature. It drinks, it feeds, it thinks and learns. It causes it's victims to become sick and crazy. The explosion in Antarctica twenty years ago was the arrival the protectors."  
"What protectors?" I questioned him.   
He stopped and looked at me, the wall was behind him a little ways.  
"Them. They come a long way to put an end to... your virus well say."  
I saw something wave though the tad bit of light behind Max.

Something stepped out into view from the shadows, I froze in great fear and my eyes became wide. My legs became wet and warm with urn that ran down them, just from the sight of it. I stepped back and hid behind the pillar.

_June 21st, 2552, 5:06 PM _

"What is that!" I screamed out, Max laughed at me.  
The thing wasn't human. It wore a blueish colored armor like EWCU troops, but wasn't human. It slouched over as it walked. Its head was longer than a persons was and its eyes where more to the side of its head a bit. Its fingers where long and had sharp nails on them. Its mouth, I took it for, spit off into four different section kind of things and its feet only had three large toes.

I peaked back around a second later after hiding and it was gone. I breathed heavily and looked at Max. He laughed a bit.  
"The new war is starting." He said and walked up to me and kneeled down by me. "And you didn't even see it coming." He said harshly and stood back up. "The war of all wars. I want to use it to start a new genesis for mankind, to make us stronger. The WWMF would never allow it through my ways." He stopped.

A Pelican flew though the air above us and touched down a ways off. I stood there with the general, I looked down at the Pelican as I laid on the ground, leaning up against the pillar. Troops began to pour out and retrieve the wounded and load them up.  
"Tell me more." I said as the dropship was loaded up and began to take off, back to Camp Turf.  
"There is no more to be said." Max replied. "They are here and the fight for humanity has begun. It is to late, words of the past will help no longer." He answered.

I looked at him and turned away and began to walk off. I made it a ways down and heard the a click behind me. I turned and shot a burst out of my BR55. The General dropped a handgun and looked at me.  
"There may be hope for you yet..." He said for his last words and dropped the ground dead.  
I turned back and headed towards the radio.

I looked among the dead bodies. I picked up a M90 Shotgun and dropped my BR55 and gathered ammo for my new gun. I watched as a shadow observed me, interested in what I was doing, wanting to learn. Light bended a small bits in mid air and I could hardly make it out. It only sat there and watched. I looked over at it and it moved along and disappeared into thicker shadows.

I turned to the flanking canyons from where the enemy had tried to flank our lines. Ahead was a hill that was climbable and made access to the top of the cliffs again.

I sat kneeled down as calls over the radio started up.  
"Command, command, this is task force A37 of the 10th infantry, we are under attack! Repeat we are under attack! Their not human!" Came the cries of someone and others, gunfire could be heard.

I looked away from the radio and pumped my shotgun and started walking. I began to make my way into the unknown, into the new war.


End file.
